Fantastic Television: A Pictoral History of Sci-Fi, the Unusual, and the Fantastic

by Gary Gerani, Paul H. Schulman

It began in the '50s with a space ranger named Captain Video and a superhero who moved faster than a speeding bullet. In '59 we entered a sixth dimension beyond that known to man. By the '60s we were forced into The Outer Limits when The Addams Family moved into the neighborhood. Our camp heroes Batman and Robin slugged it out on Earth, while the Enterprise explored new worlds on its Star Trek. Frankenstein was exhumed for made-for-TV movies in the '70s, but never fear, the Bionic Woman is here.

190 Science Fiction and Fantasy Shows

Illustrated with over 350 Photos

Behind-the-Scenes Looks

Complete Indexes of Episodes of Landmark Series

All the American and British Shows

Kids' Programs

Made-for-TV Movies

Genres: Nonfiction, Tv, Reference

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Gary Gerani is a screenwriter, author, noted film and TV historian, and children's product developer.

Reviews

[Anthony McGill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice pictorial history of some landmark sci-fi television programs from the early days of series programming. This book was published in 1977, so we are talking about shows from nearly 50 years ago. I remember seeing some of them on the creaky old family TV set when I was a teenager. How time flies when you are glued to the television screen! A few I have since collected on DVD and thoroughly enjoyed reliving the past.

Profusely illustrated with over 400 photos, this volume is crammed full of fascinating information specifically about 16 series with cast, credits and brief synopsis of every episode produced.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1953-1957)
ONE STEP BEYOND (1959-1961)
THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959-1964)
THRILLER (1960-1962)
THE OUTER LIMITS (1963-1965)
VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (1964-1968)
THE TIME TUNNEL (1966)
LAND OF THE GIANTS (1968-1970)
LOST IN SPACE (1965-1968)
BATMAN (1966-1968)
STAR TREK (1966-1969)
THE INVADERS (1967-1968)
THE PRISONER (1968)
ROD SERLING'S NIGHT GALLERY (1970-1972)
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER (1974)
SPACE: 1999 (1975-1977)

Plus sections on AMERICAN TELEFANTASY (a mini encyclopedia of other science fiction/fantasy shows of the period); BRITISH TELEFANTASY, KID STUFF and MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES.

A terrific read. An excellent reference work. Hundreds of photos to cherish.

Review based on original Harmony Books/Crown hardcover edition, 1977.

[Gladimore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have some new stuff to watch now!

[jeffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok review of TV series and made for TV movies. Good compilation of episodes, plots, guest cast etc. Otherwise, the book has a thrown together feeling, with mediocre quality graphics.

[Christopher Obert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a brief review and episode guide to the "Fantastic" TV shows of the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's. The book includes many black and white photos.