In Search of...
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In Search of… title screen
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Created by
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Alan Landsburg Productions (Original)
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Presented by
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Leonard Nimoy
Mitch Pileggi
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Country of origin
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United States
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Original language(s)
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English
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No. of episodes
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Syndicated: 144 & 4 Specials
Revival: 8
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Production
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Running time
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30 min
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Release
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Original channel
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Syndicated
Sci-Fi Channel
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Original release
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April 17, 1977 (1977-04-17) – March 1, 1982 (1982-03-01)
October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) – November 22, 2002 (2002-11-22)
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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 (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. After Serling's death, Leonard Nimoy was selected to be the host.[1]
Contents
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Format 1
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Episodes 2
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Specials 2.1
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Season One 2.2
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Season Two 2.3
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Season Three 2.4
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Season Four 2.5
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Season Five 2.6
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Season Six 2.7
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Mitch Pileggi revival 2.8
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Home media releases 3
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References 4
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External links 5
Format
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 style was often more expository than explanatory. 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.
A short-lived revival of the show, featuring Mitch Pileggi, aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2002.
Episodes
No = Overall episode number
Ep = Episode number within the season
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The original program ran for six seasons.
Specials
Season One
Season Two
Season Three
Season Four
Season Five
Season Six
Mitch Pileggi revival
Home media releases
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 US on December 11, 2012 from VEI's website.[4]
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. The other two Landsburg specials, The Outer Space Connection and Manbeast! Myth or Monster, are not included. VEI also included all eight episodes of the short-lived 2002 series, hosted by Mitch Pileggi.[5]
References
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^ Nimoy as one of the hosts of the TV series In Search Of…, alongside Mitch Pileggi of The X-Files.
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^ Release catalog number AVL 6008 by American Variety International Records Distributing Corp. 9220 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90069.
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^ Mount St. Helens eventually did erupt, an eruption that covered the nearby community in volcanic ash but ultimately did little lasting damage.
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^ http://visual-entertainment-inc.myshopify.com/products/in-search-of-with-leonard-nimoy
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^ http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Search-Complete-Collection/17470
External links
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Overview
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Core topics
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Books and television
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General
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Africa
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Asia
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Oceania
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Europe
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North
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