UCLA is where Dr. Darrow conducted psychic research in Sweet, Sweet Rachel.
The Sixth Sense series was based on the 1971 television movie Sweet, Sweet Rachel.[1] That opened with a photo of UCLA's Royce Hall—implying UCLA is where Dr. Darrow is a parapsychology researcher—and with a quote: "'If I had my life to live over, I should devote myself to psychic research rather than psychoanalysis.' — Sigmund Freud."
Dr. Michael Rhodes walked by Caltech's Millikan Library in the opening of The Sixth Sense season 1 episodes.
Dr. Michael Rhodes (Collins), a professor of parapsychology who has ESP, and his assistant Nancy Murphy (Ferrar) attempt to solve supernatural crimes and mysteries.
Production
The series, which was broadcast Saturday nights at 10 pm, had tough competition from CBS's Mission: Impossible and NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies. Despite mediocre ratings, The Sixth Sense was renewed for a second season, mainly due to its well-known guest stars. Ratings continued to decline, and ABC canceled The Sixth Sense on November 14, 1972,[2] broadcasting the remaining episodes through December 1972.
For its syndication release, The Sixth Sense was edited and included with Night Gallery hosted by Rod Serling.[3] As The Sixth Sense was an hour-long show, and the syndicated version of Night Gallery was a half-hour show, the episodes were edited quite severely. Serling's newly added introductions usually covered the introductory scenes and plot point set-ups that had been removed.
The complete TV series was released in France in October 2014 by Elephant Films. The set is composed of 9 discs with selectable soundtracks in French and English. Though produced in PAL format, it is playable in all regions.[4]
Episodes
No = Overall episode number Ep = Episode number within the season
The Sixth Sense ran for two seasons starting in 1972, including the television film from October 2, 1971. Each first season episode opened with the quote: "Your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions." Old Testament Joel 2:28.
Season 1: 1972
The show premiered on January 15, 1972, with the episode "I Do Not Belong to the Human World".
An ailing neurosurgeon has a terrifying vision that he will die from the same mysterious disease which claimed the life of his son. Leif Erickson, Michael Murphy, Laraine Day and Jessica Walter all guest star.
Gail Summer is drawn to a spooky old gothic mansion because of two visions: one of another woman drowning in a bathtub and another even more terrifying- herself drowning in a car. Larry Linville guest stars.
Diplomat Paul Crowley is attacked by a powerful psychic force. This force manifests itself in two ways: lapses of memory and visions of a woman drowning.
Edwin Danbury (William Shatner) is tormented by a vision of murder. The killer is an old man long since deceased and the victims are a young couple in love. (With Anne Archer)
7
7
"With This Ring, I Thee Kill!"
Robert Day
Robert Collins
March 4, 1972 (1972-03-04)
Rhodes fulfills the dying wish of an old friend by examining his daughter's impending marriage to a man (Lee Majors) she only met a month before.
8
8
"Witch, Witch, Burning Bright"
John Badham
John W. Bloch
March 11, 1972 (1972-03-11)
Judith Eaton becomes convinced that her daughter, Damaris, is the avenging agent of an ancestor who was burned at the stake as a witch.
Rhodes is plagued by apparitions of the woman he once loved--- who was later murdered. Then the deceased woman's lookalike sister becomes the target of the killer.
Visions of a ghost horse on a guest ranch begin haunting Paula Norris.
11
11
"Whisper of Evil"
Robert L. Collins
Robert L. Collins
April 8, 1972 (1972-04-08)
Rhodes struggles to find the sister of a woman in need of a kidney transplant. It appears as though the ailing woman has been having visions of her sister participating with a satanic ritual.
12
12
"Shadow in the Well"
–
Anthony Lawrence
April 15, 1972 (1972-04-15)
Rhodes comes to the aid of Lisa Wolf, who is frightened by an image of her recently drowned husband- whom Lisa believes she accidentally killed.
A young woman in and out of consciousness, on a flight, has visions of a horse-drawn carriage. She sees herself looking at all the passengers lying in coffins. Dr. Rhodes helps to interpret her visions as problems with the airplane. Originally one hour, it was reduced to 30 minutes for syndication on Night Gallery with the alternate title "Flying Sepulcher of Death".
Joan Crawford (in her final acting role) plays a woman who stumbles upon a group of ESP enthusiasts who decide to use their abilities to scare her to death. Gary Collins does not appear as Dr. Rhodes in this episode, but as himself in the role of host, introducing the episode and briefly interviewing Crawford in a final epilogue segment to conclude the program.
When her sight is restored, Kathy sees visions of murder.
Paperback tie-in fiction
Two books based on the series were released by Tempo Books. Uniquely, book #1, Witch, Witch Burning Bright by John W. Bloch (1972), published while first run episodes were still airing, was neither an original novel nor an episode novelization, but rather a simple reproduction of his teleplay for the eighth episode of the series (see above). Idiosyncratically, that precedent was abandoned with book #2, In the Steps of the Master by then-up-and-coming fantasist Marion Zimmer Bradley (1973), which was a more traditional original TV tie-in novel utilizing the show's characters and concepts, published shortly after the show's cancellation.
