The forgotten 60s show that served as the original Black Mirror

Out of nowhere, it was the idea of ​​lead producer Erin Shubik. Initially working as a story editor for the now-defunct BBC Television’s Armchair Theater programme, her enthusiasm for science fiction eventually led to her producing the 13-episode series Out of This World (1962) for Britain’s ITV. Later, Chopik was story editor on the BBC anthology series Story Parade (1964–65), a series of independent adaptations of modern novels, which dramatized Isaac Asimov’s The Caves of Steel. The success of both projects convinced BBC Head of Drama Sidney Newman, who had worked with Chopik at the ABC, of ​​the necessity of creating an anthology show dedicated to intellectual science fiction.

Television historian John Deere explains the initial rationale behind the series. He told the BBC: “Out of the Unknown was the first time science fiction had been presented as a serious, intelligent drama for adults.” “Today, series like Alien: Earth and Andor are less notable as being made for adults, and clearly have their origins in cinema, but this series was the first time a lot of people had seen speculative fiction, having found things like Doctor Who too young.”

The series began broadcasting in 1965, with its first story, “No Place Like Earth” by John Wyndham, released on 4 October. Chopik produced the first two series of 26 episodes, before leaving to pursue other work, handing over to producer Alan Bromley, who went on to direct two further series, which ran from 1969 to 1971.

Out of the Unknown boasted a wealth of talent both behind and in front of the camera. In addition to the great writers whose works were adapted, each episode was populated by the finest British actors such as ex-Doctor Patrick Troughton, future leading man David Hemmings, and famous faces from British theater including Yvonne Mitchell, Sylvia Coleridge and Lynn Farley, to name but a few. Famous faces even appeared in production roles – for example, Ridley Scott, the future Alien and Blade Runner director, served as production designer on one of the series’ strongest episodes, an adaptation of John Bruner’s Some Lapse of Time.