Lights Out
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Lights Out
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|---|---|
| Episodes: | 161 |
| Year: | 1946-1952 |
| Country: | United States |
| Seasons: | 5 |
| Seasons Breakdown: | (1) 4, (2) 48, (3) 52, (4) 56, (5) 1 |
| Category: | Anthology |
| Colour: | No |
| Format: | Anthology |
| Company: | NBC/ WNBT (NBC NEW YORK) |
| Creator: | |
| Run Time (mins): | 30 |
| Language: | English |
| Type of Show: | Live Action |
| Status: | Ended |
| Broadcaster: | NBC |
Summary
Anthology series which specialised in science fiction stories.
Each episode opened with a close‑up of a pair of eyes, followed by a bloodied hand extinguishing a light, an unnerving peal of laughter, and the spoken introduction, “Lights out, everybody …” A later variation replaced this sequence with Arch Oboler blowing out a candle. Media scholar Helen Wheatley observed in Gothic Television that Lights Out “sought to terrify viewers through the deployment of low‑budget sound effects and minimal orchestration, which both betrayed a radiophonic background and would become specific to Gothic television,” noting in particular the “sepulchral tonal quality of the narrator’s voice” and the use of resonant instruments to generate uncanny auditory effects.
The series presented a mixture of original scripts and adaptations of existing stories. Its narratives frequently centred on isolated rural roads, figures returning from the dead, and dilapidated or haunted houses, reflecting the programme’s emphasis on atmospheric, supernatural suspense.
Cast
Narrator FRANK GALLOP (1949-50) , Narrator JACK LA RUE (1950-52). Inc. BORIS KARLOFF, BURGESS MEREDITH AND LESLIE NIELSEN.
Tags: Anthology, United States, 1946, English
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