Across thirteen weeks in 1980, writer of science fact and fiction Arthur C Clarke took viewers on a journey through the mysterious and unusual with the series Mysterious World. A series that focused on what Clarke called "mysteries of the first and second kind." That is, mysteries that no longer were in the modern world and phenomenon where evidence existed but interpretation was debated. In the series opening episode, Clarke noted a third kind of mysteries that included psychic phenomenon, ghosts, and cases where mind might literally be over matter. Five years after Mysterious World aired, Clarke took viewers through some of those mysteries across a World of Strange Powers.
Clarke, introduced at the start of every episode as "the author of 2010 and inventor of the communications satellite," was an ideal choice to act as frontman of the series, appearing around his adopted home on the island of Sri Lanka. As a writer of science fact and fiction, Clarke had addressed many of the topics discussed in the series, including in his novel Childhood's End whose climax was set in motion by an entire generation developing psychic and telekinetic abilities. And, as a self-confessed lover of mysteries used to appearing in programs such as The Sky at Night and news coverage of the Apollo moon landings, he was what we'd term today a "media personality."
Like with Mysterious World, Clarke's presence as front man set a very different tone for the series compared to contemporary series such as the Leonard Nimoy hosted In Search Of..., for example. World of Strange Powers keeps well away from making any sensationalistic claims, with witnesses to the extraordinary given a chance to describe what happened before experts look over the available evidence. The series seventh episode, looking at extraordinary photographs of fairies and ghosts, is a prime example of this approach, including its coverage of the famous Cottingley Fairies. Science, not magic, rules the day with the Clarke and the series as a whole, with newscaster Anna Ford offering narration between Clarke's segments.
Photographs are just the tip of the iceberg. Firewalking, the power of hexes, stigmata, and premonitions are just a handful of the topics that the series covers as the series takes viewers around the world. All building up to the series finale, where Clarke takes the opportunity to go through the dozen previous episodes and rank the possibility of each topic. To risk invoking modern internet clickbait, Clarke's stances may well surprise viewers, even if he retains some skepticism on some of the topics.
Yet despite how well the series was made and how well it holds up, it's less satisfying than its predecessor. Something owed, perhaps, to the topics being covered. After all, as Clarke notes at one point, you can prove something happens, you can never prove that it doesn't. Given the series focus on intangible mysteries, definitive answers remain just out of reach.
Even so, Strange Powers remains as watchable even now. From Clarke as frontman to its reserved tone, it remains head and shoulders above many similar series. And for a series approaching forty, that's by no means a bad thing.
