Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction is an American television anthology series created by Lynn Lehmann, presented by Dick Clark Productions, and produced and aired by the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. Each episode featured stories, all of which appeared to defy logic, and some of which were allegedly based on actual events. The viewer was offered the challenge of determining which are true and which are false. At the end of the show, it was revealed to the viewer whether the tales were true or works of fiction. The series was hosted by James Brolin in season one and by Jonathan Frakes in seasons two, three and four. The show was narrated by Don LaFontaine for the first three seasons and by Campbell Lane for the fourth and final season.
Format
The stories told in the program all had some connection with the supernatural, ghosts, psychic phenomena, coincidences, destiny, and/or with other such unusual occurrences. Each episode of the show, as well as all stories within, were introduced with a pun or some other form of witticism pertaining to the particular story and episode, and they all included the underlying moral that not everything we perceive as truth and falsehood is as such, and that it can often be difficult to truly separate fact from fiction, hence the show's title. In the Frakes era, the intros were filmed on a set resembling the interior of a Victorian mansion. Each episode typically featured five stories, at least one of which was true and at least one of which was a complete fabrication. The majority of true stories on the show were based on first-hand research conducted by author Robert Tralins, while many of the ones that turned out to be fiction were simply modern-dressed re-telling of urban legends. From season two onwards Jonathan Frakes would end each story with a pun related to the story, for comical effect.
Popularity and cancellation
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction has gained a cult following. The show was often aired sporadically, sometimes going for weeks or even months between airings. There is a two-year lag between Don LaFontaine and Campbell Lane's stints as narrator for the show, during which time it was believed that it had been cancelled, only for it to be brought back for another season in the summer of 2002. It was eventually cancelled after its 2002 season. During his stint as narrator, Lane played the character John August in the Season 4 segment 'The Cigar Box'. In Germany, where Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction is known as X-Factor: Das Unfassbare, the show was especially successful and still has a cult following. This led to the X-Factor brand being extended to other shows: The Paranormal Borderline became X-Factor: Die fünfte Dimension, X-Factor: Wahre Lügen is a German series, and Scariest Places on Earth became X-Factor: Die wahre Dimension der Angst. Starting on 4 November 2018, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series' premiere in Germany, RTL II produced two special episodes under the name X-Factor: Das Unfassbare kehrt zurück , hosted by Detlef Bothe. However, this revival was heavily panned by audiences due to the much poorer quality in comparison to the original.
Episodes
Each episode featured five stories, all of which defied logic, but some of which were based on actual events. The viewer was offered the challenge of determining which were true and which were false. At the end of the show, it was revealed to the viewer which tales were true and which ones were works of fiction. Of the 225 stories told over the course of the 45 episodes, 132 were revealed to be "fact." Each episode of the series' run had at least one "fiction" story and at least two "fact" stories.
During its final run of Fox, the series was picked up for reruns by the Sci-fi Channel and ran from July 2002 to August 2005. It would later air on the now defunct Chiller channel from 2009 to 2015. Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction Season One was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 28, 2007. As of 2018, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction is available for video streaming via IMDb's Freedive service, which is part of Amazon Prime.
