In Search of... In Search of... title screen Created by Alan Landsburg Productions (original series) Presented by Leonard Nimoy

Mitch Pileggi

Zachary Quinto Country of origin United States Original language(s) English No. of episodes Syndicated: 144 (+ 4 specials)

Revival: 8

History Channel revival: 10 Production Running time 23 minutes Release Original network Syndicated

Sci-Fi Channel

History Original release April 17, 1977 ( ) – March 1, 1982 ( 1982-03-01 )

October 4, 2002 ( ) – November 22, 2002 ( 2002-11-22 )

July 20, 2018 ( ) –

present

In Search of... is an American television series that was broadcast weekly from 1977 to 1982, devoted to mysterious phenomena. It was created after the success of three one-hour TV documentaries produced by creator Alan Landsburg: In Search of Ancient Astronauts in 1973 (based on the book Chariots of the Gods? by Erich von Däniken), In Search of Ancient Mysteries and The Outer Space Connection, both in 1975 (later adapted into popular paperbacks written by Landsburg). All three featured narration by Rod Serling, who was the initial choice to host the spin-off show. Serling died before production started, with Leonard Nimoy then selected to be the host.[1] The series was revived with host Mitch Pileggi in 2002 and again in 2018 with Zachary Quinto, currently airing on the History Channel.

Format [ edit ]

The program conducted investigations into the controversial and paranormal (e.g., UFOs, Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster). Additionally, it featured episodes about mysterious historical events and personalities such as Anna Anderson/Grand Duchess Anastasia, the Lincoln Assassination, the Jack the Ripper murders, infamous cults (e.g., Jim Jones), and missing persons, cities, and ships (e.g., Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Hoffa, D. B. Cooper, the Mary Celeste, the Titanic, the lost Roanoke Colony). Because the show often presented offbeat subjects and controversial theories, each episode's opening credits included a verbal disclaimer about the conjectural nature of the evidence and theories to be presented:

“ 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. ”

The production values were fairly typical of the period, with interviews, reenactments and scenic footage shot on film, all voiced over by Nimoy. The music was composed by Laurin M. Rinder and W. Michael Lewis. A soundtrack album was released on AVI (American Variety International) Records in 1977.[2]

Nimoy's popularity among science fiction fans (due to his role as Spock in the original Star Trek television series) won the show a following in fandom circles. Nimoy wrote an episode about the turbulent life of artist Vincent van Gogh, having earlier played the artist's brother Theo in a one-man show. As part of his research, Nimoy found records in the archives of the hospital where Van Gogh was treated that suggested that he suffered from epilepsy rather than insanity.

The show also spawned at least six spin-off books, all written by Landsburg with forewords by Nimoy: In Search of Lost Civilizations, In Search of Extraterrestrials, In Search of Magic and Witchcraft, In Search of Strange Phenomena, In Search of Missing Persons, and In Search of Myths and Monsters, with an additional book that collected the best segments from these existing volumes.

In 1978, Landsburg produced a Bigfoot documentary using portions of two In Search of... episodes ("The Monster Hunters" and "The Yeti") called Manbeast! Myth or Monster, based on his book In Search of Myths and Monsters. Though Nimoy had written the foreword to Landsburg's book, he did not narrate this documentary.

Reruns of the In Search of... series aired during the early 1990s on the A&E Network. In the later 1990s, the show aired on another of the A&E Television Networks' properties, the History Channel. The licensing agreement expired in the early 2000s, ending the show's run. When the show aired on A&E, a re-recording of the original theme music was used plus a new alternate theme. The original opening titles were also modernized. In this incarnation virtually all of Nimoy's on-camera appearances in the series were replaced with reused footage, so viewers could hear Nimoy but not see him.

A short-lived revival of the show, featuring Mitch Pileggi, aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2002.

In January 2018, it was announced that Zachary Quinto, who, like Nimoy, stars as Spock in the rebooted Star Trek films, will host the revived version of the show on History Channel.[3]

Episodes [ edit ]

The original series ran for six seasons.

Specials [ edit ]

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date 01 "In Search of Ancient Astronauts" Harald Reinl Don Ringe January 5, 1973 ( ) Examines the speculation that aliens have landed on Earth in ancient times and were responsible for many of mankind's oldest mysteries. Hosted by Rod Serling. 02 "In Search of Ancient Mysteries" Fred Warshofsky Fred Warshofsky 1973 ( ) An examination of mysteries of the ancient world and their connection to the possibility that aliens visited Earth. Hosted by Rod Serling. 03 "The Outer Space Connection" Fred Warshofsky Fred Warshofsky February 1975 ( ) Examines the speculation that aliens have visited Earth in ancient times, and built structures to which they will return at a future date. Hosted by Rod Serling. 04 "Manbeast! Myth or Monster" Nicholas Webster Nicholas Webster 1978 ( ) Explores the existence of Bigfoot, the Yeti and other legendary humanoid-type creatures.

Season 1 (1977) [ edit ]

Season 2 (1977–1978) [ edit ]

Season 3 (1978–1979) [ edit ]

Season 4 (1979–1980) [ edit ]

Season 5 (1980–1981) [ edit ]

Season 6 (1981–1982) [ edit ]

Mitch Pileggi revival (2002) [ edit ]

No.

overall No. in

season Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.

code 145 01 "Hell/Vampires/The Tesla Death Ray/Scandinavian Lake Monsters" - - - - - - October 4, 2002 ( ) 1803 Hell, Vampires, Tesla. 146 02 "Witchcraft/The Man Eaters of Tsavo/The Alien Menace/Ghost Hitchhikers" - - - - - - October 11, 2002 ( ) 1806 Witchcraft, Maneaters, Ghosts. 147 03 "Werewolves/The Curse of The Mummy/D.B. Cooper Deathbed Confession/Reincarnation" - - - - - - October 18, 2002 ( ) 1805 Werewolves, Mummies, Reincarnation. 148 04 "The Ghosts in Bobby Mackey's Bar/Stigmata/The Haunted Hornet/Zombies" - - - - - - October 25, 2002 ( ) 1801 Ghost, Stigmata, Zombies. 149 05 "The Catacomb Mummies/The Johnson Bigfoot Encounter/The Secret of Rennes-le-Château/Earthquake Predictions" - - - - - - November 1, 2002 ( ) 1802 Catacomb, Bigfoot, Rennes-le-Château. 150 06 "Haunted Plantations/The Doomsday Virus/The Devil/Psychic Spies" - - - - - - November 8, 2002 ( ) 1804 Haunted, Doomsday, Devil. 151 07 "Ghost Lovers/Exorcism & Possession/Robot Armageddon/The Haunted Campus of Ohio University" - - - - - - November 15, 2002 ( ) 1807 Lovers, Possession, Robot. 152 08 "Faith Healers/The Real Frankenstein/The Shroud of Turin/Alien Ancestors" - - - - - - November 22, 2002 ( ) 1808 Shroud, Alien, Faith.

History Channel revival (2018) [ edit ]

No.

overall No. in

season Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.

code 01 01 "Aliens" - - - - - - July 20, 2018 ( ) 1001 Quinto sets out to discover whether aliens exist and what evidence we have to prove it. He meets with several who say they have encountered extra-terrestrial life–a man who has been abducted by aliens several times since childhood; a man who claims to have extracted an alien implant; and a woman who shows Zachary what it feels like to be abducted into a spacecraft. Zachary also meets with the world's leading scientists at SETI in Green Banks, West Virginia. There, utilizing the world's largest telescope, they show him the methods they employ to communicate with potential other-worldly visitors and what this research has taught them about a mysterious radio signal they picked up 3 billion light years away. 02 02 "SuperHuman" - - - - - - July 27, 2018 ( ) 1002 Quinto interviews and looks into what it takes to be committed to things that are of a superhuman nature like strength, pain and endurance. 03 03 "Monsters of the Deep" - - - - - - August 3, 2018 ( ) 1003 Quinto sets out to research the strangest creatures dug up from the depths of the ocean and to see how much they lend to the monsters that are depicted in myth and legend. Starting in Australia, he meets with a teenager who was savagely attacked by a swarm of mysterious flesh-eating monsters, only to jump into the water himself the next day amongst highly venomous sea creatures. From the carnivorous fish of American rivers to the eyeless monsters of the Atlantic Ocean, Zachary finds some merit in these old monster stories and is starting to understand just what we mean when we say that we know less than 1% of what waits in the depths below. 04 04 "Artificial Intelligence" - - - - - - August 10, 2018 ( ) 1004 Quinto embarks on a terrifying journey to understand how the future of artificial intelligence may already be a threat to humanity. He visits Facebook headquarters where he learns about a failed AI experiment that went terribly wrong when two chat boxes created a language that only they could understand. Zachary also gets a firsthand look at the world's latest technology–including life-like dolls programmed with advanced AI, robots that learn and communicate telepathically, highly intelligent drones of war, and Uber self-driving cars. 05 05 "Time Travel" - - - - - - August 17, 2018 ( ) 1005 Quinto charts a journey to determine whether time travel is possible. He meets a man who claims to have traveled back in time due to a secret government program and a group of people living in Liverpool known as "time slippers". Zachary then makes a visit to the CERN headquarters in Geneva, where he attempts to understand the origins of the universe and the dimension of time. Equipped with this new knowledge, Zachary tests his own perception of time with an elaborate skydiving experiment to see if he can slow down time itself. 06 06 "Sinkholes" - - - - - - August 24, 2018 ( ) 1006 Quinto explores the unpredictable and terrifying phenomenon of sinkholes to determine just what causes them. He visits a Florida man whose brother was killed when their family home was literally swallowed whole by the Earth as well as a series of sinkholes that are forming a series of caves right below the houses of a quaint suburban neighborhood. Whether they be a part of some biblical prophecy or further evidence of mankind's effect on our planet, he's alarmed to discover that all the same, they can strike anywhere in the world, at any time. 07 07 "Mind Control" - - - - - - August 31, 2018 ( ) 1007 08 08 "Life After Death" - - - - - - September 7, 2018 ( ) 1008 09 09 "Atlantis, Part 1" - - - - - - September 14, 2018 ( ) 1009 10 10 "Atlantis, Part 2" - - - - - - September 14, 2018 ( ) 1010

Home media releases [ edit ]

In February 2012, it was announced that Visual Entertainment, under license from Universal Studios, had acquired the home video rights to the original series for the United States and Canada. In Search of: The Complete Collection was released in Canada and the U.S. on December 11, 2012 from VEI's website.[5]

The 21-DVD set includes all 144 installments hosted by Leonard Nimoy. Also included are two Rod Serling specials: In Search of Ancient Astronauts and In Search of Ancient Mysteries which aired prior to the start of the regular Nimoy series. Three Landsburg specials, The Outer Space Connection, Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle and Manbeast! Myth or Monster, are not included. VEI also included all eight episodes of the short-lived 2002 series, hosted by Mitch Pileggi.[6]

See also [ edit ]