The Complete Directory to Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Television Series

A Comprehensive Guide to the First 50 Years 1946 to 1996
From the early days of television, science fiction, fantasy and horror have been present on our screens. Some series such as Star Trek, Doctor Who and The Adventures of Superman have become icons of popular culture; while others are best forgotten by all, including the people who made them. Here for the first time in one volume are guides to every science fiction, fantasy and horror television series from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This book covers the first 50 years from the very first, Lights Out in 1946, all the way until the end of the 1995-1996 television season.

• Over 360 series are covered, with entries for over 15,000 individual episodes.
• The entry for each series contains a listing of the series regulars, an overview and a complete episode guide.
• Each episode guide is comprised of a listing of all the episodes in chronological order. The listing for each episode gives the episode title, guest cast, brief sypnosis, date of original broadcast, writer and director.
• Included are listings for films which were either based on, or served as the inspiration for, one of the TV series covered, both those made for the theatres and thse made for television.

There are few book I would give up a holiday for. I found The Complete Directory… in a second-hand bookshop in Ramsgate on my summer holiday, 1997, and spent the next three days in my room reading up on all the television shows I had yet to see. It lives up to the blurb’s promise, and served as my shopping list when old television shows began appearing on DVDs a few years ago. The clear layout, combined with a wealth of geeky knowledge, is one of my favourite books, and has been consulted at least once a week since its’ purchase.

If you have never heard of such wonderful televisual gems such as Ark II, Come Back, Mrs. Noah or Ultraman Towards The Future, then you can do no better than look through the wealth of information in this book. It’s a product of its’ time in many ways, and a current edition (if such a book could be printed) would run to many times the length of Alan Morton’s original tome.

Some entries, especially for older series, are missing vital airdates and title information. Many of these episodes have, sadly, been lost forever, and any further research would be limited to scripts and production records. When I picked up the book, I hadn’t thought about many of the shows in years, and reading through the sypnosis’ brought back childhood memories of lying in front of the television on a Saturday morning. Who could imagine that old television shows could hold so much power?

Needless to say, this comes highly recommended for anyone interested in television, pop culture and genre fiction.

The Complete Directory to Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Television Series by Alan Morton, foreword by Peter David
(Other Worlds Books) ISBN: 0-9657358-0-X

Further reading:
The Encyclopedia of TV Science Fiction by Roger Fulton (Boxtree)
The Sci-Fi Channel Encyclopedia of TV Science Fiction by Roger Fulton (Warner Books)
More episode guides can be found at epguides.com and fuller listings are available at TV.com