# Journey to the Unknown

Journey to the Unknown is a British anthology television series, produced by Hammer Film Productions and 20th Century Fox Television. It aired on ABC from September 26, 1968, to January 30, 1969. The series first aired in the UK on the ITV network on 16 November 1968.

## Format

The series has a fantasy, science fiction, supernatural and horror theme, very similar to the American television series The Twilight Zone, and deals with normal people whose everyday situations somehow become extraordinary. It featured both British and American actors: American actors included George Maharis, Vera Miles, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patty Duke, Carol Lynley, Joseph Cotten, Stefanie Powers and Brandon deWilde, along with familiar British actors such as Dennis Waterman, Jane Asher, Kay Walsh, Roddy McDowall, Nanette Newman, Ann Bell and Tom Adams. Seventeen episodes were produced. Directors of the episodes included Roy Ward Baker, Alan Gibson, Robert Stevens, Don Chaffey and Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Each episode was executive-produced either by Joan Harrison or Norman Lloyd, both of whom had co-produced Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour from 1955 to 1965.
In America, eight episodes from the series were broadcast as four made-for-television films consisting of twinned episodes along with new segment introduction footage provided by actors Patrick McGoohan, Sebastian Cabot and Joan Crawford serving as hosts:
| Title | Host | Segments | Original airdate |
| Journey into Darkness | Patrick McGoohan | "The New People" / "Paper Dolls" | 1969 |
| Journey to the Unknown | Joan Crawford | "Matakitas is Coming" / "The Last Visitor" | June 15, 1970 |
| Journey to Murder | Joan Crawford | "Do Me a Favor and Kill Me" / "The Killing Bottle" | January 30, 1971 |
| Journey to Midnight | Sebastian Cabot | "Poor Butterfly" / "The Indian Spirit Guide" | October 31, 1971 |

## Opening title sequence

The series had a memorable whistled theme tune composed by Harry Robinson of Hammer Film Productions, and a creepy title sequence that featured a roller coaster filmed at night at a deserted amusement park (Battersea Park Fun Fair in the London Borough of Wandsworth, London).

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Eve" | Robert Stevens | Paul Wheeler, Michael Ashe | September 26, 1968 (1968-09-26) |
| A shy sales clerk (Dennis Waterman) falls in love with a mannequin (Carol Lynley) in his department store. Based on the short story "Special Delivery" by John Collier. |||||
| 2 | "Jane Brown's Body" | Alan Gibson | Anthony Skene | October 3, 1968 (1968-10-03) |
| A woman (Stefanie Powers) attempts suicide, but is rescued; she has amnesia, and has to recall everything gradually. Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich. |||||
| 3 | "The Indian Spirit Guide" | Roy Ward Baker | Robert Bloch | October 10, 1968 (1968-10-10) |
| A widow (Julie Harris) hopes to get in touch with her dead husband, but knows most people claiming to be spiritualist mediums are fakes; she hires a detective (Tom Adams) to help her weed out the phonies. He sets up some scenarios to make it appear that he's identifying fakes, so that she'll keep paying him. Based on a story by Robert Bloch. |||||
| 4 | "Miss Belle" | Robert Stevens | Sarett Rudley | October 24, 1968 (1968-10-24) |
| An embittered spinster (Barbara Jefford) has turned against all men, and is raising her niece Roberta as a proper young lady—in spite of the fact that Roberta is actually Robert, a boy. A drifter (George Maharis) starts to work for Miss Belle... Based on the short story "Miss Gentilbelle" by Charles Beaumont. |||||
| 5 | "Paper Dolls" | James Hill | Oscar Millard | November 7, 1968 (1968-11-07) |
| A set of quadruplets (played by Roderick and Barnaby Shaw) are telepathically connected as they feel one another's pain and share skills and talents; Michael Tolan and Nanette Newman play teachers who investigate. Based on the novel The Paper Dolls by L. P. Davies. |||||
| 6 | "The New People" | Peter Sasdy | Oscar Millard and John Gould | November 14, 1968 (1968-11-14) |
| A young American couple (Robert Reed and Jennifer Hilary) move to England, where they find their neighbors are a bit too friendly and helpful. Based on the short story "The New People" by Charles Beaumont. |||||
| 7 | "One on an Island" | Noel Howard | Oscar Millard | November 21, 1968 (1968-11-21) |
| Shipwrecked on a desert island, a man (Brandon deWilde) is soon joined by two companions (Suzanna Leigh and Bob Sessions), but jealousy overwhelms him. Based on a story by Donald E. Westlake. |||||
| 8 | "Matakitas is Coming" | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | Robert Heverley | November 28, 1968 (1968-11-28) |
| A researcher (Vera Miles) is transported back in time, and apparently trapped with a librarian (Gay Hamilton) inside a deserted library with a mad serial killer, Andros Matakitas (Leon Lissek). |||||
| 9 | "Girl of My Dreams" | Peter Sasdy | Robert Bloch and Michael J. Bird | December 5, 1968 (1968-12-05) |
| A waitress (Zena Walker) can foretell the future and knows when people are going to die. An unscrupulous man (Michael Callan) finds out about her power and exploits her. Based on the 1963 short story "Girl of My Dreams" by Richard Matheson. |||||
| 10 | "Somewhere in a Crowd" | Alan Gibson | Michael J. Bird | December 12, 1968 (1968-12-12) |
| A television news anchor (David Hedison) witnesses several tragic accidents, and notices that the same five people are present on each occasion. Based on the short story "The Crowd" by Ray Bradbury. |||||
| 11 | "Do Me a Favor and Kill Me" | Gerry O'Hara | Stanley Miller | December 19, 1968 (1968-12-19) |
| A down-on-his luck actor (Joseph Cotten) asks a friend to kill him so his family can have the insurance money. The murder is to happen randomly, the actor not knowing when or where, and his friend will not respond to any attempt to contact him. Now the actor decides he doesn't want to die, but how can he call it off? Based on a story by Frederick Rawlings. |||||
| 12 | "The Beckoning Fair One" | Don Chaffey | William Woods and John Gould | December 26, 1968 (1968-12-26) |
| A young man (Robert Lansing) recovering from a nervous breakdown moves into a haunted house. The ghost is a beautiful girl, and he falls in love with her, overlooking his living fiancee (Gabrielle Drake). Based on the novella The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions. |||||
| 13 | "The Last Visitor" | Don Chaffey | Alfred Shaughnessy | January 2, 1969 (1969-01-02) |
| On vacation at a resort, a young woman (Patty Duke) is plagued by a mysterious visitor; the proprietress (Kay Walsh) informs her that the visitor is her estranged husband. |||||
| 14 | "Poor Butterfly" | Alan Gibson | Jeremy Paul | January 9, 1969 (1969-01-09) |
| Invited to a costume party at a wealthy mansion, a man (Chad Everett) finds that everything looks as it did in the 1920s. Then he meets a girl who keeps saying she needs to leave... Based on the short story "Poor Butterfly" by William Abney. |||||
| 15 | "Stranger in the Family" | Peter Duffell | David Campton | January 16, 1969 (1969-01-16) |
| A boy can control people; this sometimes leads to their deaths. Both a scientist and the agent of a struggling actress (Janice Rule) would like to get their hands on him. |||||
| 16 | "The Madison Equation" | Rex Firkin | Michael J. Bird | January 23, 1969 (1969-01-23) |
| A detective investigates the electrocution of a computer technician and discovers it's no accident. Barbara Bel Geddes and Allan Cuthbertson play the scientists who developed the computer. |||||
| 17 | "The Killing Bottle" | John Gibson | Julian Bond | January 30, 1969 (1969-01-30) |
| In order to obtain the family inheritance, a man (Barry Evans) must have his brother declared insane. The brother hates anyone who does harm to living creatures, so they show him a butterfly killing bottle, hoping he will go mad and assault the owner (Roddy McDowall). Based on the short story "The Killing Bottle" by L. P. Hartley. |||||