Out of The Unknown - Series Four

Series Four

Further information: List of series four episodes

The fourth series of Out of the Unknown began production in early 1970. Bromly and Parkes were now free to put their own creative mark on the series. Encouraged by Head of Serials, Gerald Savory, they sought to recast Out of the Unknown as “not straight science fiction, but with a strong horror content, all starting out from a realistic basis”. The decision to move towards psychological horror came about partly because of the difficulties involved in finding suitable science fiction scripts, partly because the production team felt that their budget couldn't compete with the glossy fare offered by the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Trek, both of which had just reached British shores at this time, and partly because it was felt that science fiction could not compete with the real-life drama of the, then contemporary, Apollo moon landings.

Another major change for series four was a move away from adapting novels and short stories. Only one episode of series four – “Deathday” based on the novel by Angus Hall, dramatised by Brian Hayles – was an adaptation;the remaining ten episodes were original works.

Series four was broadcast on Wednesday nights beginning 21 April 1971. The new series sported a new title sequence, devised by Charles McGhie, and a new theme tune - “Lunar Landscape” by Roger Roger. Both ratings and critical reception were positive, although some viewers were disappointed by the move away from hard science fiction – a typical comment was that of Martin J. Pitt who wrote to the Radio Times, “it will be a pity if the opinions of people like Alan Bromly rob television of the opportunity to present intelligent and exciting science fiction”.

Although the fourth series was judged to be a success, the BBC chose not to renew Out of the Unknown for a fifth series. With the exception of the Play for Today spin-off, Play for Tomorrow, no regular science fiction anthology series has been made by a UK broadcaster since Out of the Unknown went off the air.