Le sixième sens

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?

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.

Created by writer Anthony Lawrence, after the 1971 TV movie "Sweet, Sweet Rachel", and supervised during the first season (the first thirteen episodes) as an executive story consultant, the framework of "The Sixth Sense" is detective story but with wild macabre elements throughout the ESP phantasmagoria: delirious visions, hallucinations, apparitions, delusions, nightmares, mind transfers, memories from strangers, premonitions. As in the tradition of the private eye helped by his secretary, Dr. Michael Rhodes is supported by assistant librarian Nancy Murphy who only stays during the first seven episodes. The show's first ambition is to introduce to the audience the paranormal by rational and scientifical means and therefore, Dr. Rhodes plays the edifying and idealistic College professor who encounters hostility and skepticism. Too rigid and anecdotal to turn into a success, "The Sixth Sense" displays good episodes as "The House That Cried Murder", "Lady, Lady, Take My Life" (featuring a psychic lynch mob), "Once Upon a Chilling". Actually, "The Sixth Sense" is the second attempt to spread the ESP genre, after the 1959 anthology "One Step Beyond"--hosted and directed by John Newland; Newland participated in three "Sixth Sense" episodes: "Dear, Joan, We're Going to Scare You to Death", "Through a Flame, Darkly" and "And Scream by the Light of the Moon, the Moon"--, but with a regular conventional character and an early 1970's psychedelic film-making style. Many directors from other Universal fantastic shows worked on "The Sixth Sense": John Badham, Jeff Corey, Daniel Haller and Barry Shear from "Night Gallery" and Allen Barron from "Kolchak, The Night Stalker".

There, I said it! The funny thing is that The Sixth Sense is MUCH better than the more celebrated Night Gallery, even though I enjoy both shows. This review isn't really meant to rip the more popular show of the 2, but they both really go hand in hand. From what I read, and it's been a while, is that TSS piggybacked off of TNG during those crazy 70's ESP years, and was not given the proper respect is most definitely deserved; in fact, if you're lucky enough to catch the show on the tube like I did a few years ago, you'll find the show severely edited, and that hurts the quality. I was skeptical about this show at first, as Gary Collins and his turtleneck and big Chevy did nothing for me, but I did become a fan soon after, as the man can actually act, plus the stories were less silly than the ahem...other show. There's also many familiar faces(I won't name all of them though), such as Will Geer, June Allyson, Joseph Campanella, Joan Crawford, Sandra Dee, John Saxon, William Shatner, Steve Forrest, Patty Duke, Larry Linville, Tom Bosley, and Jessica Walter, although there's many others. It's difficult for me to understand why this show wasn't more popular, and I suppose that adds to the charm, but I bet there's many out there who would really enjoy seeing The Sixth Sense, even for the first time. I'm just glad I recorded many episodes a few years ago, and while their severely edited, it's better than not having them!

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