Inside/Out (American TV series)
An anthology series using cliffhanger endings to explore social issues.
Inside/Out is an American educational television series that aired on PBS from January 31, 1972, to December 21, 1973. Produced by the National Instructional Television Center (NIT) with support from multiple educational agencies and Exxon Corporation, it was one of the last programs made by NIT; the organisation would be reformulated as the Agency for Instructional Television (AIT) in April 1973. The series is notable for its 15-minute anthology format that used cliffhanger endings to teach children about social issues.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 15 Minutes
- Country
- United States, Canada (depending on episode)
- Network
- PBS
- First aired
- 31 January 1972
- Last aired
- 21 December 1973
- Episodes
- 30
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- According to an October 28, 1972 TV Guide article, WGBH Boston banned an episode about death titled 'In My Memory' because it was deemed too realistic and might scare children.
- The series' uncredited theme music is an excerpt from 'Ripple' by composer Simon Haseley, sourced from the De Wolfe production music library.
Overview of series
Inside/Out was an anthology series of 15-minute shorts designed to teach children about social issues. Unlike many similar shows that used happy endings, Inside/Out typically ended with cliffhangers, leaving viewers to draw their own conclusions about what they would do in similar situations. Due to critical acclaim, some PBS stations double-ran two episodes in a half-hour evening time slot so parents could watch with their children. The series was commonly watched on classroom TV broadcasts during school hours and on 16mm film reels, and it remained a staple of daytime instructional television blocks on public TV stations until at least the late 1980s.
Inside/Out was the first in a series of similarly produced instructional programs by AIT, followed by Bread and Butterflies (1974), Self Incorporated (1975), Trade-Offs (1978), Thinkabout (1979), On The Level (1980), and Give & Take (1982). All these series were produced for only one season but were frequently rerun on television and shown in schools for years afterward. In 1974, Bantam Books' Pathfinder series published Stories from Inside/Out by Ken Sobol, adapting several scripts into prose with discussion questions. In 1996, AIT produced an updated version titled Looking from the Inside/Out.
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