An Analytical Guide to Television’s One Step Beyond, 1959–1961

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond made its television debut in 1959, nine months before Rod Serling’s classic The Twilight Zone, and paved the way for a generation of television programs devoted to paranormal topics such as the occult, ESP, and ghost stories. One Step Beyond was also where some of Hollywood’s most famous leading men, including Warren Beatty, William Shatner, and Charles Bronson, got their starts in television. This complete reference work to the 96 half-hour episodes that ran for three seasons on ABC also offers a detailed history, extensive commentary and summaries of the critical reception of One Step Beyond as well as coverage of the sequel series produced in 1978 entitled The Next Step Beyond. Complete credits for both series are provided.

John Kenneth Muir is an American literary critic and award-winning author. As of 2022, he has written 30 reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres.

John Kenneth Muir
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 312
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2006 [2001]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2849-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5534-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Introduction      1

Part I—History      7

Part II—The Series      33

Season One (1959)      35

Season Two (1959-60)      89

Season Three (1960-61)      159

Part III—Newland Between Steps      219

Part IV—The Next Step Beyond      227

Part V—A “Legacy of Love”?

One Step Beyond as Genre TV’s Paranormal Bedrock      259

Appendix A: The Most Common Conventions and Themes in One Step Beyond      273

Appendix B: A Survey of the Psychic, Paranormal and Inexplicable in Genre Television      280

Appendix C: The Fifteen Best Episodes of One Step Beyond      284

Appendix D: John Newland’s Directing Contributions to Genre TV Series (1961–1978)      285

Appendix E: Remakes      286

Notes      287

Bibliography      291

Index      295

“recommended”—Booklist; “a handy reference guide…a must”—VideoScope.