Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World

Lore & Background

The series was produced by John Fanshawe and John Fairley, and directed by Peter Jones, Michael Weigall, and Charles Flynn. It featured a unique soundtrack composed by British artist Alan Hawkshaw. In 1980, Book Club Associates published a hardcover book with the same name, authored by Simon Welfare and John Fairley, which further explored the show's contents. The book included an introduction by Clarke and his remarks at the end of each chapter or topic. A paperback was released by HarperCollins Publishers in 1985.

Reader's Guide

Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World stands as a notable entry in the genre of documentary series investigating anomalous phenomena. Its format, with Clarke's bookend segments filmed in Sri Lanka, lent a distinctive authorial voice. The series was followed by two sequels: Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers in 1985 and Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe in 1994. In January 2008, the original series was released on DVD in the UK by Network and Granada, featuring all 13 original episodes unedited and remastered. A collection DVD box set of all three series was released in July 2013 by Visual Entertainment, with separate re-releases in September 2013. The series is often compared to the similar U.S. show In Search of..., hosted by Leonard Nimoy.

Did You Know?

• The series was first broadcast on 6 September 1980 on the ITV network.
• Arthur C. Clarke's segments were filmed in Sri Lanka.
• A hardcover book based on the series was published in 1980 by Book Club Associates.

Production & Creative Team

Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World was a thirteen-episode British television series that aired on the ITV network, produced by Yorkshire Television. Its first broadcast took place on 6 September 1980. The show's structure was distinctive: Clarke himself appeared in brief opening and closing segments filmed on location in Sri Lanka, while the main body of each episode was carried by the narration of Gordon Honeycombe. Behind the camera, the series was shaped by producers John Fanshawe and John Fairley, with direction split among Peter Jones, Michael Weigall, and Charles Flynn. Adding a further layer of artistic identity, the series featured an original musical score composed by British musician Alan Hawkshaw, giving the program a sonic texture that set it apart from typical documentary fare of the era. The combination of a world-famous science-fiction author lending his name and presence, a seasoned narrator, and a dedicated creative team gave the series a polished, cohesive feel across all thirteen installments.

The Companion Book & Publication History

The television series was accompanied by a printed companion that expanded on its themes. In 1980, Book Club Associates issued a hardcover volume carrying the same title, written by Simon Welfare and John Fairley. The book went beyond what the episodes covered, offering deeper exploration of the unexplained phenomena the show presented. Clarke contributed an introduction and also appended his own comments at the close of each chapter or topic, lending his personal voice to the written material. The hardcover edition served as a natural extension of the broadcast, allowing viewers to revisit and dig further into the subjects discussed on screen. Nearly five years later, in 1985, HarperCollins Publishers brought out a paperback edition, making the book more accessible to a wider readership. The pairing of a television series with a substantive book, both bearing Clarke's name and featuring his direct input, created a multi-platform experience that was relatively uncommon for documentary programming at the time.

Legacy & the Sequel Series

The success of the original thirteen-part series established a template that would be revisited more than once. In 1985, Clarke returned to the concept with Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers, and the franchise received a final installment in 1994 with Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe. Together, these three documentary series spanned fourteen years and kept the theme of unexplained and extraordinary phenomena firmly in the public consciousness. The British series also found a natural parallel across the Atlantic: the American program In Search of..., hosted by Leonard Nimoy, pursued a similar format of exploring mysteries and anomalies, beginning in the late 1970s. While the two shows operated in different television markets and under different creative leaderships, they shared a common fascination with the unexplained. Clarke's association with the subject matter gave his series a particular gravitas, as audiences could trust that the world's most celebrated science-fiction writer was personally vouching for the material's worth of attention.

Home Video & Modern Availability

For decades after its 1980 broadcast, the series was available only through television reruns. That changed in January 2008 when Network and Granada released the original thirteen episodes on DVD in the United Kingdom. The disc presented the full series unedited and remastered, giving home viewers a cleaner picture and sound experience than the original broadcast had offered. The release was a significant moment for fans who had missed the initial run or wanted to revisit the episodes in their entirety. The franchise's home-video footprint expanded further in July 2013, when Visual Entertainment issued a collection DVD box set bundling all three Clarke documentary series—Mysterious World, World of Strange Powers, and Mysterious Universe—into a single package. Visual Entertainment also re-released each series individually in September 2013, allowing collectors to acquire the titles separately. These releases ensured that the series remained accessible to new generations of viewers long after its original ITV broadcast.