Way Out was a dark anthology series that aired on Friday nights at 9:30 PM in in the slot before Twilight Zone on CBS between March and July of 1961. It replaced one of TV's most notorious bombs, Jackie Gleason's "You Are In the Picture", an ill conceived game show. It premiered with strong ratings for the debut episode of "William & Mary" based on Roald Dahl's short story, but failed to sustain its audience and was canceled by July of 1961. Roald Dahl wrote and delivered the dark, wry introductions and sign offs with panache. Beginning each show with a, "How are you?" He would offer advice on, disposing of unpleasant spouses, or recount facetious stories of his boyhood in Norway where, when somebody died, and the ground was frozen solid, they would sharpen the legs and hammer the body into the ground, "like an enormous nail."
Fondly remembering this almost forgotten chapter in television history, Mike Dann says, "Way Out was one of the last weekly dramatic shows to be done in New York. Practically more than any other show, while it was not the most important, it represented the end of the era of New York as a production center for prime time. The only thing we had left then was variety shows. It meant the death of drama in New York, which is a great loss fore everyone."One I would dearly love to see, but have not been able to find is "Soft Focus" starring Barry Morse with makeup by Dick Smith. The program is subtle and needs repeated viewings to be fully appreciated. I hope it comes out on DVD or VHS.
