In Search of... is a 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, In Search of Ancient Mysteries and The Outer Space Connection, both in 1975. All three featured narration by Rod Serling, who was the initial choice to host the spin-off show. After Serling's death, Leonard Nimoy was selected to be the host.
In Search of... (Season 3)
UFO Captives (Episode 1)
Air date: 1978-09-14
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: An examination of claims made by a family in Utah, a man in Wyoming on a hunting excursion, etc. of being abducted (kidnapped) and held captive on UFOs: A close encounter of the fourth kind.
Tornadoes (Episode 2)
Air date: 1978-09-21
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Scientists at the National Severe Storms Laboratory work to detect and mitigate the impact of tornadoes, which are the most ferocious storms of all, often striking with little warning and inflicting massive amounts of damage.
Cloning (Episode 3)
Air date: 1978-09-28
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: A review of the benefits and concerns of producing genetically identical individuals artificially.
Water Seekers (aka Dowsing) (Episode 4)
Air date: 1978-10-05
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: The ancient art of dowsing is reviewed, specifically the accuracy and reliability of water dowsers. Do they possess a psychic ability to detect water or can successful dowsing be learned? Further, can science prove or disprove dowsing?
Jack the Ripper (Episode 5)
Air date: 1978-10-12
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: An investigative report on the unsolved mystery of London's notorious serial killer. The episode reveals the killer's connection with contemporary media and the possible involvement with the Masons. Various identities are suggested as being that of the killer, including a duke who was second in line to the British throne.
Cryogenics (Episode 6)
Air date: 1978-10-19
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Scientists have frozen and successfully revived animals in laboratory settings. In addition, some human beings have opted to be frozen at death in hopes of being revived at a future time. Can cryogenics permit humans to live forever?
Siberian Fireball (Episode 7)
Air date: 1978-10-26
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: The Tunguska event of 1908 was eerily similar to the Trinity nuclear test in 1945. How could a nuclear-like blast have occurred prior to the atomic age? Was a comet or asteroid the cause? Or was extraterrestrial technology responsible?
The Great Lakes Triangle (Episode 8)
Air date: 1978-11-02
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: An examination of strange disappearances of ships and planes in an area of the Great Lakes that is considered to be more dangerous than the fabled Bermuda Triangle.
Monster Hunters (aka Sasquatch) (Episode 9)
Air date: 1978-11-09
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Examines various "monster hunters" including Peter Byrne and Tim Dinsdale as well as the "Bay Area Group". Subjects such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster are covered.
Bermuda Triangle Pirates (Episode 10)
Air date: 1978-12-07
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Explores the possibility that modern pirates involved in drug smuggling may be a factor in the disappearances of luxury yachts in the Bermuda Triangle off Florida. Scenes are dramatized involving the takeover of ships by pirates.
Indian Astronomers (aka Mayan Legacy) (Episode 11)
Air date: 1978-12-14
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Many pre-Columbian cultures possessed a sophisticated understanding of the heavens. Did they share this knowledge, even across great distances? Similar insights of the Cahokia, Ancestral Puebloans, and Mayans appears to confirm they did.
Sherlock Holmes (Episode 12)
Air date: 1978-12-21
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: An examination of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, and how the author emulated his fictional detective in many respects.
Lost Vikings (Episode 13)
Air date: 1978-12-28
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: What happened to the Vikings, led initially by Erik the Red, who had settled in Greenland? Did they perish due to some unforeseen calamity? Or did they relocate to Newfoundland, thus becoming the first European settlers in the New World?
Dreams and Nightmares (Episode 14)
Air date: 1979-01-04
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: "In Search of ..." explores the mysteries of dreams and nightmares: why we have them and what they do for us.
Animal ESP (Episode 15)
Air date: 1979-01-11
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Do animals, including humans, possess extrasensory perception? If so, are we humans and our companion animals able to communicate on a deeper level? Further, do humans have the ability to converse telepathically with companion animals?
The Money Pit Mystery (aka Captain Kidd) (Episode 16)
Air date: 1979-01-18
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Was a secret treasure buried on Oak Island off the coast of Nova Scotia? This episode examines the possibilities that it was and also covers some of the searches for it.
Psychic Sea Hunt (Episode 17)
Air date: 1979-01-25
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Various individuals with psychic abilities are given a map of the ocean floor and asked to identify areas that may contain long-forgotten shipwrecks and perhaps even treasure. A submarine travels to the selected spots to gauge the results.
The Angel of Death (aka Joseph Mengele) (Episode 18)
Air date: 1979-02-01
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: The hunt for the fugitive sadistic Nazi doctor and his most famous pursuer, Simon Wiesenthal.
Noah's Flood (Episode 19)
Air date: 1979-02-08
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: This episode looks into the scientific methods used to prove the Flood as described in The Bible.
The Diamond Curse (Episode 20)
Air date: 1979-02-15
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Does the possession of diamonds carry an inherent curse? In particular, how has the Hope Diamond, as well as other significant diamonds, affected its possessors?
Ghostly Stakeout (Episode 21)
Air date: 1979-02-22
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: California psychics visit two purportedly haunted properties and attempt, with mixed results, to contact and exorcise ghosts located within the structures.
Brain Power (Episode 22)
Air date: 1979-03-17
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: A survey of the brain, its mysteries and potential, and how it may be trained to overcome cerebral birth defects as well as move beyond its current, limited usage.
Sodom & Gomorrah (Episode 23)
Air date: 1979-05-10
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Scientists look into the theory that the remains of these wicked cities are on the very site of a crater now filled by the Dead Sea.
King Tut (Episode 24)
Air date: 1979-05-17
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: The brief life and reign of Tutankhamen were mostly unremarkable, yet upon his death he was entombed with a collection of astonishing riches and his decision to restore Egypt's ancient religion may have galvanized monotheistic practice.
Seasons
Episodes 24
Episodes 24
Episodes 24
Episodes 24
Episodes 24
Episodes 24
Episodes 8