| Genre | Horror |
|---|---|
| Creator | Merwin Gerard |
| Director | John Newland |
| Starring | John Newland (Host) |
| Theme music composer | Mark Snow |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Num seasons | 1 |
| Num episodes | 25 |
| Producer | Alan Jay Factor · Collier Young · Mitchell L. Gamison |
| Editor | Phil Tucker · Bernard Gribble · Douglas M. Stewart, Jr. |
| Company | Factor-Newland Productions |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| First aired | 1978 |
| Last aired | 1979 |
| Related |
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The Next Step Beyond is a 1978 remake of the 1950s–1960s American television series One Step Beyond, hosted by original host John Newland. Like One Step Beyond, the series purported to tell true stories of the supernatural. Unlike the original, this series had a short run of one season of 25 episodes, 14 of which were remakes.[1]
Background
Inspired by the syndication success of the original series as well as The Twilight Zone, Star Trek and especially Space: 1999, John Newland and Collier Young who participated in the original series, and Alan J. Factor decided to produce a new version of One Step Beyond to be titled The Next Step Beyond, for syndication. Original series creator Merwin Gerard came back as story editor. Newland returned as series host, sporting white hair and large eyeglasses, otherwise looking the same.[2][3]
Worldvision Enterprises, distributor of the original series, distributed the new series as well. Without the benefit of a sponsor like Alcoa, the series only had a budget of $92,000 an episode.[2][3]
There were several drawbacks. The series was shot on videotape, and lacked the noirish look of the original.[2][3]
Several episodes of the original series were remade. All of the remakes were based on Merwin Gerard originals. The budget limit also limited the series' ability to present stories in other times, because of the lack of period costumes and settings, which had been lavish in One Step Beyond. The budget also meant the series could not afford any big name guest stars. The series was canceled after 25 episodes were produced. After running a few cycles on television, the series disappeared and has not been seen since.[2][3]
The remakes were a bad idea, we thought we could fool the audience, and we soon learned we couldn't.
— John Newland[4]
See also
References
- ^ Muir, John Kenneth (21 June 2010). An Analytical Guide to Television's One Step Beyond, 1959-1961. ISBN 9780786455348.
- ^ Muir, John Kenneth (2006). An Analytical Guide to Television's One Step Beyond, 1959-1961. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786428496.
- ^ Muir, John Kenneth (2000). Terror Television: American Series, 1970-1999. McFarland. pp. 133–148. ISBN 9781476604169.
- ^ John Kenneth Muir (January 11, 2008). "Cult TV Flashback #45: The Next Step Beyond (1978–1979): 'The Haunted Inn'". John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
External links
- The Next Step Beyond at IMDb