bayardhiler Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World is one of those shows that I could watch again and again because it presents all kinds of fascinating mysterious and inspires one to think about all the possibilities. For example, there's one episode concerning the mysterious explosion in Siberia that occurred in 1908 that flattened the forest for hundreds of miles and left traces of radiation behind. Meteor? Comet? Where's the crater? Plus, another great thing about this show is you get to see photos and film of things and events that you probably have never seen before. For the Siberian episode, you saw the actual footage of the first soviet trip to the sight of the explosion (footage that I have never seen anywhere else). The show also has episodes concerning undiscovered animals, both on land and in the sea. In the episode "Monsters of the Deep", they present a story concerning a British officer whose troop ship was sunk by a German raider and while he and his companions were drifting on a raft, encountered a monster squid who snatched one of the men and pulled him under. In addition, Arthur C. Clarke offers his insight into different areas but does not narrate. But still, just to have Sir Clarke offer his opinion is well worth it. The theme song and music add very much to the show as well. From what I understand, the DVD for this is only made in Britain and if you buy it from Amazon, you have to purchase a special player for it. However, you can watch quite a few of the episodes online. Either way, if you ever wonder about monsters, UFOs, and other strange things, check out this show if you can.

Theo Robertson I've got to go along with the mainstream opinion that this was an absolutely fascinating show at the time but many of the anecdotes and " facts " have been debunked . Take for example The Monsters Of The Deep episode which featured the tale of a Lt Cox who was shipwrecked in 1942 and stranded on a life raft with a number of men . A giant squid appeared alongside the boat and grabbed one of the survivors from the raft taking him to his doom . Lt Cox would have been the next victim if the remaining survivors hadn't held on to him , nevertheless Cox was scarred for life and had the sucker scars to prove of his encounter with the squid Unfortunately this nightmare tale isn't recounted by Lt Cox who died in 1971 but by his friend biologist Prof Cloudsly Thompson so we have no hard physical evidence that this happened . Surely if such a terrifying incident happened Lt Cox could have shown his scars and been photographed before his death ? We then see an interview of Dr Fredrick Aldrich of Newfoudland who claimed that during the war torpedoed sailors would scramble in to life rafts , giant squids would surface and snatch sailors from the said life rafts . The only problem with this is that there is absolutely no evidence that this ever happened . No eyewitnesses to these attacks are interviewed and according to present day marine biologists it's impossible for a squid to lift its tentacles out of the water hence it'd be impossible for the related incidents to have taken place . Likewise Dr Aldrich says squids are attracted to the colour red but is this actually true ? Apparently it's true enough for Dr Clarke to wear a yellow lifejacket when he's swimming off Sri Lanka . But is there any giant squid there ? My knowledge is that they're confined to cold waters Not to be too cynical there is scientific skepticism involved . An episode involving Big Foot and the Yeti ends with Dr Clarke saying if someone gave him money to bet on their existence he'd put a small amount on the Big Foot , a small amount on the Yeti and keep most of the money for himself . An episode featuring flying saucers does end with a very insightful view from Dr Clarke where he states that there's tracking stations all over the world looking out in to space and no one has ever registered any space craft entering Earth's atmosphere . Of course conspiracy theorists will claim there's a big cover up and one wonders if the episodes should have had a slightly longer running time in order to explain scientific skepticism a little bit more because there's a danger people might take the show a little too seriously

Rngrbabe35 This series is a long-time favorite of mine from childhood...I rented the VHS tapes from my local Blockbuster and got hooked, even though "Mysterious World" was produced 4 years before I was born. Sir Arthur C. Clarke is a warm and intelligent presence in all 6 volumes of the series, even though (as a previous reviewer said) he does not narrate the series or have much of a hand in it. A particular favorite scene of mine involving this esteemed scientist is in the episode entitled "The Journey Begins," wherein he views and describes the natural mystery of a solar eclipse. I highly recommend this series to those who are interested in the unexplained...if you have never seen it before and are able to locate it on VHS or laser disk (and have the player for either format!), check it out.

F Gwynplaine MacIntyre The entire medium of television would be radically different (and probably a lot more limited) if not for the achievements of Sir Arthur C Clarke, who devised the idea of communication satellites. Clarke has long been respected for his work as a scientist and for his high-tech science fiction. Less well known is the fact that Arthur C Clarke has a long-standing interest in Fortean phenomena: not the paranormal nor the supernatural, but bizarre occurrences at the borders of known science that force us to examine the rules of how the universe works.I met Arthur C Clarke during the 1979 World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton, where we had a long talk over drinks in the bar of the Brighton Metropole while discussing one of Arthur C Clarke's favourite subjects: cryptozoology, the serious study of species that have not been conclusively shown to exist, such as the Yeti and the Sasquatch. That subject dominates one episode of 'Mysterious World'.Arthur C Clarke's participation in 'Mysterious World' is minimal -- largely confined to sound-bites of him expressing his opinions as he walks along a Sri Lankan beach -- yet vital. As this sort of topic is always viewed with scepticism, this series would never have been produced at all if Clarke had not brought to it his very respected reputation and his scientific gravitas. Apart from his name, Clarke's contribution consisted only of brief intros and afterpieces, and a few suggestions for topics. The series itself was written, produced and narrated by other people, less famous than Clarke but no less devoted to the study of Fortean phenomena.'Mysterious World' is comparable to the American syndicated series 'In Search of...', but that series cast its net too widely and set its credulity level too low. Guided by Arthur C Clarke's reputation, 'Mysterious World' makes a creditable effort to reject anything that can't stand up to scientific analysis.The episode devoted to cryptozoology ends with Clarke reminding us that, if Sasquatch and Yeti do exist, we have an obligation to respect them and protect their environment.This excellent series is notable for film clips difficult to find elsewhere. Quite a few Fortean round-ups have mentioned the Tunguska incident of 1908; 'Mysterious World' offers actual footage from the first expedition to that site.Some of the topics featured in this series (and in Arthur C Clarke's companion series 'World of Strange Powers') are bizarre and unexpected, such as the little-known mystery of Ireland's Chinese seals. Over the course of a century, more than a dozen porcelain seals from dynastic China have been found in bogs and other obscure locations throughout Ireland. The seals have been authenticated, yet nobody can explain how they landed up in Ireland. Nor were they in a single trove; they were found in many different places all over Ireland, over a long period of time. It beggars belief that these artefacts might have been planted deliberately as a hoax. How did they get to Ireland, and when?The problem for a show like 'Mysterious World' (or the fondly remembered 'One Step Beyond', treating similar subject matter) is that it must offer the audience questions which it cannot responsibly answer. The known facts are offered, some intelligent conjecture is entertained. But for a conclusive answer to the riddle of the Chinese seals - or the existence of the Yeti - the producers of this series can only say: 'Sorry, but we really don't know.''Mysterious World' is a fascinating series, but ultimately unsatisfying since it deals with unknowns. The last episode, indeed, is a sort of omnium-gatherum of all the Fortean bits and bobs that didn't fit into earlier episodes. I highly recommend this series, but fans of Arthur C Clarke should be advised that his participation is minimal. My rating: 10 in 10.