Editing Out of the Unknown (section)

==Series four==
{{further|List of Out of the Unknown episodes#Series 4|l1=List of series four episodes}}
The fourth series of ''Out of the Unknown'' began production in early 1970. Encouraged by the BBC's Head of Plays, [[Gerald Savory]], Bromly and Parkes sought to recast the show as "not straight science fiction, but with a strong horror content, all starting out from a realistic basis".<ref name="Ward_394">Ward, ''Out of the Unknown'', p. 394.</ref> 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 budgets could not compete with those of ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' or ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' (the latter had just begun to be broadcast in the UK at this time), and partly because it was felt that science fiction could not compete with the real-life drama of the [[Project Apollo|Apollo Moon landings]] then occurring.

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 a novel by Angus Hall and dramatised by [[Brian Hayles]], was an adaptation. The opening title sequence was changed again, designed by Charles McGhie, employing a variety of techniques, from computer-generated images to real-time visual effects and stop-frame model animation. The music used was "Lunar Landscape" by [[Roger Roger (composer)|Roger Roger]].

Series four was broadcast on Wednesday nights beginning on 21 April 1971. Both ratings<ref>{{Citation|title=Out of the Unknown (TV Series 1965–1971) – IMDb|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058836/episodes?season=4|access-date=2021-10-23}}</ref> 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'' that "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".<ref name="Ward_394" /> "To Lay a Ghost" was a particularly controversial production at the time due to its "somewhat questionable" depiction of rape and sexual repression.<ref>{{URL|1=https://archivetvmusings.blog/2014/12/11/out-of-the-unknown-to-lay-a-ghost/}}</ref>

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 lengthy science fiction anthology series has been made by a UK broadcaster since ''Out of the Unknown'' went off the air (in 1981 Ian Levine planned a 13-part fifth series, but nothing came of it). Of the eleven episodes produced during its final year, only five are known to exist, with the first and final episodes missing.