Editing Out of the Unknown (section)

==Series one==
{{further|List of Out of the Unknown episodes#Series 1|l1=List of series one episodes}}
Shubik began work and soon found that gathering science fiction stories suitable for adaptation was a difficult task. She later recalled: "I had to read hundreds of stories to pick a dozen. You have no idea how difficult some of these authors are to deal with, and it seems a special thing among SF writers to hedge themselves behind almost impossible copyright barriers, even when they have got a story that is possible to do on television. So many you can't. Either the conception is so way out you would need a fantastic budget to produce it, or the story is too short, too tight to be padded out to make an hour's television".<ref>Ward, ''Out of the Unknown'', p. 31.</ref> When she had been working on ''Out of this World'' Shubik had made a valuable contact in [[John Carnell]], a key figure in British science fiction publishing. He was the founder of the science fiction magazine ''[[New Worlds (magazine)|New Worlds]]'' and agent for many of Britain's science fiction writers. Carnell was able to suggest stories and authors for her to consider. Shubik also received copies of science fiction anthologies from British publishers and sought advice from many authors, including [[Frederik Pohl]], [[Alfred Bester]] and [[Robert Silverberg]]. The latter two admitted to her that they had run into similar difficulties in finding suitable material for television adaptation. She considered asking [[Nigel Kneale]] if he would write a new [[Quatermass]] story for the series,<ref>{{cite book |last=Pixley |first=Andrew |title=The Quatermass Collection – Viewing Notes |year=2005 |type=paperback |location=London |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |id=BBCDVD1478}}</ref> and contacted [[Arthur C. Clarke]] regarding the possibility of adapting his novel ''[[The Deep Range]]''.<ref>Ward, ''Out of the Unknown'', p. 25.</ref>

In March 1965 Shubik travelled to New York City to negotiate rights with authors whose works she was considering, to seek ideas from U.S. television, and to obtain more science fiction anthologies from U.S. publishers. During her visit she met science fiction editors and also Isaac Asimov, who granted permission for two of his stories to be adapted on the condition that they could be shown only in the UK: sales to foreign territories were not allowed. A visit to New York became an annual event for Shubik during her time on ''Out of the Unknown''.<ref>Ward, ''Out of the Unknown'', p. 26.</ref>

On her return to London from her first visit Shubik learned that she had been appointed producer and story editor for the new anthology series. She obtained the services of [[George Spenton-Foster]] as her [[associate producer]]. Spenton-Foster was a science fiction fan and his wide experience of BBC television production proved invaluable to Shubik.

By this stage she had found the twelve scripts she needed for the first series: ten episodes were adaptations of stories by John Wyndham ("[[Time to Rest]]" and its sequel "[[No Place Like Earth]]", dramatised together as "No Place Like Earth");<ref name="Bould">{{cite web |url=https://markbould.com/2015/01/18/out-of-the-unknown-no-place-like-earth-bbc2-4-october-1965/ |title=Out of the Unknown: 'No Place Like Earth' (BBC2 4 October 1965) |date=18 January 2015 |access-date=14 January 2018 |author=Bould, Mark}}</ref> [[Alan Nourse]] ("[[The Counterfeit Man]]"); Isaac Asimov ("[[The Dead Past]]" and ''[[Sucker Bait]]''); [[William Tenn]] ("[[Time in Advance]]"); [[Ray Bradbury]] ("The Fox and the Forest"); [[Kate Wilhelm]] ("Andover and the Android"); [[John Brunner (novelist)|John Brunner]] ("Some Lapse of Time"); [[J. G. Ballard]] ("Thirteen to Centaurus") and Frederik Pohl ("The Midas Plague"). Two original stories were also commissioned, "Stranger in the Family" by David Campton and "Come Buttercup, Come Daisy, Come...?" by Mike Watts. Among those commissioned to adapt the stories were a few notable names in television writing. [[Terry Nation]], creator of the [[Dalek]]s for ''[[Doctor Who]]'' and later of ''[[Survivors (1975 TV series)|Survivors]]'' and ''[[Blake's 7]]'', adapted Bradbury's "The Fox and the Forest", while [[Troy Kennedy Martin]], co-creator of ''[[Z-Cars]]'', adapted Pohl's "The Midas Plague".

A title for the series had not been decided when production began. Titles such as ''Dimension 4'', ''The Edge of Tomorrow'' and ''From the Unknown'' were considered before ''Out of the Unknown'' was settled on. The title music was composed by [[Norman Kay (composer)|Norman Kay]] and the title sequence was created by [[Bernard Lodge]]. It was intended from an early stage that, as with Boris Karloff on ''Out of this World'', each story would be introduced by a regular host. [[Christopher Lee]] and [[Vincent Price]] were approached, but neither was available and the idea was dropped.

The opening title sequence was designed by Bernard Lodge, using stock shots and specially created optical illusion patterns filmed on a rostrum camera, combined with a face frozen in a scream and a mannequin falling repeatedly through space. The forty-second sequence won a Design & Art Direction Wood Pencil for Television Graphics in 1965. [[Delia Derbyshire]] of the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]] created a theme for the sequence, but it was rejected.

The episode "Some Lapse of Time" is notable for having [[Ridley Scott]], future director of such films as ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'' and ''[[Blade Runner]]'', as its designer.

''Out of the Unknown'' made its debut on BBC2 at 8 p.m. on Monday 4 October 1965 with "No Place Like Earth". Science fiction and fantasy were popular on television, and ''Doctor Who'', ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'', ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'', ''[[The Man from UNCLE]]'' and ''[[Lost in Space]]'' were all notable hits at the time. ''Out of the Unknown'', however, was intended to offer more cerebral fare. Initial audience and critical reaction was mixed, but improved as the series went on. "Andover and the Android" ("It's not until intelligence, humour and gaiety break into television that you notice what tasteless pap we've been living on"<ref>Ward, ''Out of the Unknown'', p. 120.</ref> – ''[[Daily Mail]]'') and "Some Lapse of Time" ("It was not surprising to hear from ''[[Late Night Line Up]]'' that there had been many complimentary telephone calls after the play [...] it left the viewer with the disconcerting feeling that there was more than a grain of truth in its fantasy"<ref>Ward, ''Out of the Unknown'', p. 131.</ref> – ''[[Birmingham Mail|Birmingham Evening Mail and Dispatch]]'') proved particularly popular with audiences and critics alike. BBC2 Controller [[David Attenborough]] praised the "overall professionalism that has become a hallmark of the series".<ref>Ward, ''Out of the Unknown'', p. 33.</ref> By the end of its first run ''Out of the Unknown'' was the second-most popular drama on BBC2, after the imported [[Western (genre)|Western]] ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]''.<ref>Ward, ''Out of the Unknown'', p. 32.</ref>

Series one holds the distinction of being the only series to have its first and final broadcast episodes still in existence. Series three and four are missing both, while series two is missing its final episode.