History Series / InSearchOf

''In Search Of...'' is a syndicated documentary television series that was broadcast weekly from 1977 to 1982, devoted to mysteries and phenomena. It was created after three successful one-hour TV documentaries, ''In Search of Ancient Astronauts'' in 1973 (based on the book ''Chariots of the Gods?'' by Erich von Däniken), and ''In Search of Ancient Mysteries'' and ''The Outer Space Connection'' (both of which were written into popular paperbacks by series-creator Alan Landsburg) in 1975. All three feature narration by Creator/RodSerling, who was the initial choice to host the series. After the death of Serling, Creator/LeonardNimoy was chosen to be the host of the spin-off series.

Not to be confused with ''[[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock The Search For Spock]]''.

* DidAnastasiaSurvive: There's an episode about Anastasia Romanova, including an interview with an ancient-but-still-living Anna Anderson. In 1991, DNA evidence proved Anna Anderson was not Anastasia. Furthermore, Anastasia's body was found in 2007, proving she was killed along with the rest of her family. As a side note, the episode is clearly an artifact from a time when [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar certain issues]] prevented Western historians from having direct access to Russia. Come to think of it, that probably played a large part in how that legend survived so long.

* {{Dracula}}: There was an episode dedicated to him, complete with StockFootage from ''{{Film/Nosferatu}}'' being used to illustrate the Creator/BramStoker version of the character. There isn't really a mystery as such, since the episode mostly just relates the history of UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler. Although the episode itself leans towards HammerAndSickleRemovedForYourProtection, it's interesting to note that it was filmed on-location in {{UsefulNotes/Romania}} at a time when that country was ruled by the more modern tyrant of Nicolae Ceaușescu (who admired Vlad the Impaler, no less!)

The series conducted investigations into the controversial and paranormal (e.g., [=UFOs=], Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster). Additionally, it featured episodes about mysterious historical events and personalities such as Anna Anderson/Grand Duchess Anastasia, the Lincoln Assassination, the Jack the Ripper murders, infamous cults (e.g. Jim Jones), and missing persons, cities, and ships (e.g., UsefulNotes/AmeliaEarhart, Jimmy Hoffa, D. B. Cooper, the Mary Celeste, the Titanic, the lost Roanoke Colony). Because the show often presented offbeat subjects and controversial theories, each episode's opening credits include a verbal disclaimer about the potentially conjecturable nature of the evidence and theories to be presented:

* {{Dracula}}: There was an episode dedicated to him, complete with StockFootage from ''{{Film/Nosferatu}}'' being used to illustrate the Creator/BramStoker version of the character. Filmed on-location in {{UsefulNotes/Romania}}, the episode mostly just relates the history of UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler. Although the episode itself leans towards HammerAndSickleRemovedForYourProtection, it's interesting to note that it was filmed at a time when Romania was ruled by the more modern tyrant of Nicolae Ceaușescu (who admired Vlad the Impaler, no less!)

%%* {{Dracula}}

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The episode "Future Life" focused on predicting how people would live in the twenty-first-century. The progress of space travel and medical science is wildly overestimated while the phenomenal future predicted for computers is accurate if vague. The only really specific computer prediction is still a bit fantastical, however, with its suggestion that NeuralImplanting could lead to a {{Transhuman}}.

* ShoutOut: When the subtitle of the third StarTrek movie was announced, many viewers and reviewers noticed the similarity between it and this series.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The episode "Future Life" focused on predicting how people would live in the twenty-first-century. The progress of space travel and medical science is wildly overestimated while the phenomenal future predicted for computers is somewhat accurate if a bit vague. The only really specific computer prediction is still a bit fantastical, however, with its suggestion that NeuralImplanting could lead to a {{Transhuman}}.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The episode "Future Life" focused on predicting how people would live in the twenty-first-century. The progress of space travel and medical science is wildly overestimated while the phenomenal future predicted for computers is somewhat accurate if a bit vague. The only really specific computer prediction is that NeuralImplanting could lead to a {{Transhuman}}, which is still a bit fantastical.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The episode "Future Life" focused on predicting how people would live in the twenty-first-century. The progress of space travel and medical science is wildly overestimated while the phenomenal future predicted for computers is fairly accurate if a bit vague. The only really specific computer prediction is that NeuralImplanting could lead to a {{Transhuman}}, which is still a bit fantastical.

* BeeAfraid: The episode "Killer Bees" is dedicated to the Africanized honey bees which escaped from a Brazilian laboratory in 1957. Impressively, the episode predicts that Africanized bees would arrive in the United States in 1990, which actually was the year the first Africanized beehives were found in Texas.

** There's an episode about Anastasia Romanova, including an interview with an ancient-but-still-living Anna Anderson. In 1991, DNA evidence proved Anna Anderson was not Anastasia. Furthermore, Anastasia's body was found in 2007, proving she was killed along with the rest of her family. As a side note, the episode is clearly an artifact from a time when [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar certain issues]] prevented Western historians from having direct access to Russia. Come to think of it, that probably played a large part in how that legend survived so long.

** Other subjects covered like astrology, dowsing, communicating with the dead, the predictions of Nostradamus, etc have been thoroughly discredited as utter nonsense by modern scientific skeptics.

%%* AlienAbduction

%%* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti

* AlienAbduction
* UsefulNotes/AmeliaEarhart: Not only did she have her own episode, she was in the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK4PGCQQ4Oc opening titles]].

* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti

* DocumentaryOfLies: While the show never outright lies about the causes of various phenomena which it investigates, it still presents every crackpot theory on each mystery as if they were all worthy of serious consideration.
** Their disclaimer does say that their purpose is to "suggest some possible explanations", so it's not like they set the bar really high. Yep, they definitely succeeded at their mission to suggest an explanation of some kind.
* {{Dracula}}
* EenieMeenieMinyMoai

* UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper

* PsychicPowers
* PyramidPower
* SpookyPhotographs

* TimeTravel
* TheTunguskaEvent

** Likewise, they did a story on Josef Mengele. He died in 1979 and his grave was found in 1985. Now that Mengele's identity while living in South American is known, the dramatic tales of Mengele's narrow escapes from {{Nazi Hunter}}s related in the episode have turned out to be bogus.

* DocumentaryOfLies: While the show never outright lies about the causes of various phenomena which it investigates, it still presents every crackpot theory on each mystery as if they were all worthy of serious consideration.
** Their disclaimer does say that their purpose is to "suggest some possible explanations", so it's not like they set the bar really high. Yep, they definitely succeeded at their mission to suggest an explanation of some kind.
* {{Dracula}}
* EenieMeenieMinyMoai
* HistoryMarchesOn: Quite a few of the mysteries aren't so mysterious anymore.

** Likewise, they did a story on Josef Mengele. He died in 1979 and his grave was found in 1985. To be fair, the show was more about Simon Wiesenthal and his hunt for former Nazis escaping justice than Mengele himself.
*** Except that now Mengele's identity while living in South American is known, the dramatic tales of Mengele's narrow escapes from {{Nazi Hunter}}s related in the episode have turned out to be bogus.

-->This series presents information based in part on theory and [[WildMassGuessing conjecture]]. The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanation, but not necessarily the only ones, to the mysteries we will examine.

** Their disclaimer does say that their purpose is to "suggest some possible explanation", so it's not like they set the bar really high. Yep, they definitely succeeded at their mission to suggest an explanation of some kind.

--->This series presents information based in part on theory and [[WildMassGuessing conjecture]]. The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanation, but not necessarily the only ones, to the mysteries we will examine.

''Series/InSearchOf...'' is a syndicated documentary television series that was broadcast weekly from 1977 to 1982, devoted to mysteries and phenomena. It was created after three successful one-hour TV documentaries, ''In Search of Ancient Astronauts'' in 1973 (based on the book ''Chariots of the Gods?'' by Erich von Däniken), and ''In Search of Ancient Mysteries'' and ''The Outer Space Connection'' (both of which were written into popular paperbacks by series-creator Alan Landsburg) in 1975. All three feature narration by Creator/RodSerling, who was the initial choice to host the series. After the death of Serling, Creator/LeonardNimoy was chosen to be the host of the spin-off series.

** An episode covers the real account of TheAmityvilleHorror, which has now been debunked as a [[BasedOnAGreatBigLie hoax]].

** There's an episode about Anastasia Romanova, including an interview with an ancient-but-still-living Anna Anderson. In 1991, DNA evidence proved Anna Anderson was not Anastasia. Furthermore, Anastasia's body was found in 2007, proving she was killed along with the rest of her family. As a side note, the episode is clearly an artifact from a time when [[ColdWar certain issues]] prevented Western historians from having direct access to Russia. Come to think of it, that probably played a large part in how that legend survived so long.

* JackTheRipper

The series conducted investigations into the controversial and paranormal (e.g., [=UFOs=], Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster). Additionally, it featured episodes about mysterious historical events and personalities such as Anna Anderson/Grand Duchess Anastasia, the Lincoln Assassination, the Jack the Ripper murders, infamous cults (e.g. Jim Jones), and missing persons, cities, and ships (e.g., AmeliaEarhart, Jimmy Hoffa, D. B. Cooper, the Mary Celeste, the Titanic, the lost Roanoke Colony). Because the show often presented offbeat subjects and controversial theories, each episode's opening credits include a verbal disclaimer about the potentially conjecturable nature of the evidence and theories to be presented:

* AmeliaEarhart: Not only did she have her own episode, she was in the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK4PGCQQ4Oc opening titles]].

** Noah's Ark and the great flood is explored. Noah's flood being a myth has been the consensus of the geological community since the late Victorian era, so technically history had already marched on when the show was made. The episode acknowledges this and contracts the "nineteenth-century scientists" who disbelieved in the flood with the "twentieth-century scientists" who do. One of the "twentieth-century scientists" interviewed for this show is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_M._Morris this guy]].