The Sixth Sense

In January 1972, "The Sixth Sense" began as a midseason replacement series on ABC and was a 60 minute episode per Saturday evening. (ABC had quickly dispatched most of their new shows that had begun earlier in September of '71.) While not a runaway hit by any stretch of the imagination,especially when your main audience would've been watching "Mission: Impossible" on CBS, the show was picked up for the following fall (in the same killer time slot)and was a distant memory by winter. While not nearly as subversive as "Kolchak" or even "The X Files," the series had a distinct flair for creepiness for early 1970s standards. Having seen some of the cut and paste jobs done in the syndication package, I can say without doubt that the show was much more interesting at its full 60 minute length. One hopes that with the new interest in old TV shows on DVD, Universal might dust off the sixty minute episodes for those of us who often championed shows without a prayer on ABC.

I recall watching many episodes from this unique series and am disappointed it does not yet seem to be available for purchase. I'd always wondered if the last name of the ESP investigator (Dr. Rhodes) was a play on words in that it matches the first two letters of the famous ESP Researcher of Duke University, JB Rhine.

Each episode had its own challenge, with the good doctor having just enough manifested ESP ability to lead him along the trail of intrigue (remember those zoom-in close-ups of his eyes or ears, denoting his detecting psychic information pertaining to the case?)

I hadn't quite realized the other viewer's comments that at least some of the episodes apparently were repackaged in Serling's Night Gallery series, although I do recall at least one Sixth Sense episode appearing in a Night Gallery feature, yes.

One particular episode of intrigue involved master psychics seated around a table, with starry emblems floating or displayed about the darkened room, attempting to outwit Dr. Rhodes in his pursuit of their misuse of said abilities.

I think Gary Collins did a plausible job of taking the acting role seriously for this series, and would be delighted to obtain a copy of the entire series. Hopefully the original prints are still intact and available for said purpose?

This show aired in the Fall Season of 1972-73 and was quickly forgotten, probably due to it's genre (paranormal drama) and it's half-hour length. It centered on a professor (Gary Collins who actually acts in this) who explored cases of the mind, e.g. ESP and telekinesis.

Sadly, no one really remembers this series and the fact that a popular movie came out with the exact name makes it even more of a rarity. Not a bad show, it will cause somewhat of an air of suspense, all in a bite-size package.

Fortunately, this series was reedited into the syndication package of "Night Gallery" (which itself was badly edited) and can be seen wherever half-hour segments of "Night Gallery" is being shown. The only difference is in the very beginning where the typeface is different and a few more credits given to Anthony Lawrence and one other person. There is still the Rod Serling prologue (which he was paid handsomely for) and even some paintings to accent these episodes. Not a bad fate for a half-forgotten TV show.

It's two-hour pilot, "Sweet Sweet Rachel," is often aired as a movie. If anyone has a copy of this pilot or some of the episodes, please email me. I would be very interested in completing my collection.

The Sixth Sense was one of the very few TV series to delve into the psychic world as a dramatic one-hour show.Dr.Michael Rhodes(Gary Collins)is a university professor who would investigate psychic phenomena and the lives of those it affected.This was a cool show that created some eerie episodes that were best viewed with the lights out.While Rhodes was written as a rather one-dimensional character,Collins brought a warmth & intelligence to the part that made you like the guy.The ESP aspects of the show would be shrouded in a mystery-of-the-week plot.Haunted houses,visions,ghosts,premonitions,psychic powers,you could look forward to chills from such stuff each week.Sadly,the show was re-packaged to run as part of the reruns of the fine Night Gallery show.But they cut the one-hour series back to 30-minutes in doing so,which makes the half-hour episodes incomprehensible & rushed.Still,it was a creepy show for its era(1972)and it was able to do it within the restrictions & lack of imaginations of the network.The X-Files was able to take the concept much further & with the benefits of later day technology & fx.But The Sixth Sense walked the path earlier.

This is another under the radar gem that is also a forgotten one as it's never been talked about and barely in the memory of the sci-fi and horror community. This was a show that was no doubt ahead of it's time as it was one of the first that tackled paranormal investigation which makes sense as in the 70's the unexplained phenomena subculture started to open up more widely to the public. This show no doubt predated "The X-Files", "Gravity Falls", etc.

It's not quite a classic like any of them, but it could have been had it been given a little more time. I honestly never knew this show existed, I only roughly heard about this show as only a few episodes premiered on the "Night Gallery", I honestly thought they were anthology stories for the show despite not behaving like them. Really liked that TV advertisement for it, which was eerie and kind of creepy with that music and the strange female head that said, "Come with me.", hearing that let you know your in for a trip. Also, really liked the intro which is a honorable mention in favorite intros, the music is just eerie and even the graphics with it, it really had a feeling of mystery, danger and wonder wrapped in one.

Really like the cases as each of them are also a different form of psychic phenomena, it really made me wonder what was the next one going to be like and the other question how Mike is going to solve the mystery and cure the client. The suspense is good and even a little scary as the episode always present a dark foreboding eerie atmosphere where nothing is what is seems and whatever you never thought was possible is. It's also thought provoking as we're sort of the assistant detective, just like Mike is trying to make sense out of the whole strange shebang.

The main protagonist Mike Roodes is solid, Gary Collins whom is no longer with us puts in a good performance, he kind of looks a bit like Robert Redford ok not quite but has the same hairstyle anyway (Robert Redford playing a Paranormal Investigator that would have been something). He's got a little charisma, but I like how he has a certain sensitivity where he is always treating his clients and the psychic subject matter with respect; which made him the kind of person I'd want to call in case I experience the same type of problems. He can hold his own against danger with the help of his psychic powers, sharp intellect, and anything else he possesses like his fists.

What is interesting about him is he's not so much a paranormal investigator but a psychic doctor as he is helping people that are not just experiencing psychic phenomena but also to people whom either have the ability temporarily or permanently and he is there to help them and himself make sense into the matter and to control and cure it. I really like that it sort of is a mix in genre making this not just a mystery show but also a medical show. My only real problems which dull the senses of the show are for one thing some of the plot lines are a bit formulaic making the show a bit predictable, I felt the show would have benefited greatly with a little more variety in format. Another problem is the pace of the show is kind of slow making the show not very exciting, I feel Mike needed a nervous situation or two to keep things going but also to see Mike's psychic abilities tested more.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a revival, and in this we can have that variety in format where Mike he helps not just another rich woman in danger but maybe even a guy, child, and someone in the middle class. But also, let's put him on a few other cases, other cases to mix things up like maybe some house or area that is deemed haunted, demonic possession or even travel the world on certain other paranormal cases. We could also get a little more depth into Mike as to how he came into being with his psychic powers and how he's came to the position he's in now. It's all a thought anyway to consider.

This is a hidden gem worth opening an eye to.

Rating: 3 stars