"Journey to the Unknown" commands a surprising amount of respect in the sci-fi world, despite having aired for just one season.

The British anthology series, very similar indeed to the American classic "The Twilight Zone," ran from 1968 to 1969 on Britain's ITV, and later on ABC in the U.S. It was produced by legendary British company Hammer Film Productions.

It totals a mere 17 episodes, each one a different scenario ranging from creepy to terrifying -- episode titles such as "Do Me a Favour, Kill Me" and "The Killing Bottle" go a long way to describing the sort of content the series offered.

Despite being produced way over in Britain, the series attracted an impressive list of American actors to appear, no doubt drawn in part by the huge success of "The Twilight Zone," much of which came posthumously after that series left the air in 1964.

Names such as Patty Duke, Stefanie Powers and Vera Miles appeared, as well as plenty of notable Brits, including Roddy McDowall -- who perhaps had developed a taste for creepiness after starring a year earlier in 1968's "The Planet of the Apes."

Hammer Films is certainly better known for its big-screen work, having redefined the horror genre in the 1950s and been hugely influential in the success of B-movies as a style unto themselves.

It cranked out dozens of films with titles such as "The Curse of Frankenstein" and "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave," but unlike its other B-movie contemporaries, Hammer was able to capitalize on the availability of classically trained British actors who could shoot between theater runs. Greats such as Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing brought an acting caliber that American horror pics could rarely boast.

"Journey to the Unknown" was one of Hammer's rare forays into television. It tried again in the '80s with "Hammer House of Horror," another anthology series that only lasted a season, and "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense," which was aired as "Fox Mystery Theater" on this side of the Atlantic.

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