Sunday, August 12, 2012

Best of Paranormal TV: In Search Of . . .

One of the longest running paranormal  based series, In Search Of . . . explores both the unexplained and the mysterious. Unlike the previous television show from the previous post, this one researches history, science, and much more. It started out as hour long specials narrated by Rod Sterling. When it switched to a series format, Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame took over after Sterling's death. The show was cut back to a half hour time slot. Despite the shortening of the time, it lasted six long seasons from 1976 to 1982. There was a very short revival in 2002 with Mitch Pileggi of The X-Files fame that covered some of the same territory. All later paranormal investigation shows owe a debt to the original In Search Of . . . because a lot of the same format continued in other investigative broadcasts.

The beginning credits were the same on each episode, warning, "This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanations, but not necessarily the only ones, to the mysteries we will examine." In this way the presentation wouldn't be seen as absolute and scientific fact. Viewers could make up their own minds how truthful and accurate each mystery might be to reality.