Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

This article is about the 1997–2002 television program. For other uses, see Beyond Belief.

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
Genre	Science fiction Paranormal
Created by	Lynn Lehmann
Presented by	James Brolin (1997) Jonathan Frakes (1998–2002, 2021–present)
Narrated by	Don LaFontaine (1997–2000) Campbell Lane (2002) Eberhard Prüfer (2021-present)
Theme music composer	Al Kasha
Composers	Al Kasha Mark Northam David E. Russo Tim Simonec Steve Zuckerman Robert Alpert
Country of origin	United States (1997–2000) United States/Canada (2002) United States/Germany (2021–2023)
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	51 (254 Segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Barry Adelman Dick Clark Al Schwartz
Running time	7–9 Minutes (Individual Segments) 44–45 minutes
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	May 25, 1997 (1997-05-25) – September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05)
Network	RTL Zwei
Release	October 31, 2021 (2021-10-31) – present

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. ^[1] Each episode features stories, all of which appear to defy logic, and some of which are allegedly based on actual events. The viewer is offered the challenge of determining which are true and which are false. At the end of the show, it is 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 from season two onwards. The show was narrated by Don LaFontaine for the first three seasons and by Campbell Lane for the fourth season. The Germany-exclusive fifth season is narrated by Eberhard Prüfer.

Starting in 2021, a fifth season was produced for the German market, where new episodes are released each Halloween.

Format

The stories told in the program all have some connection with the supernatural, ghosts, psychic phenomena, coincidences, destiny, or other such unusual occurrences.

Each episode of the show, as well as all stories within, are introduced with a pun or some other form of witticism pertaining to the particular story and episode, and they all include 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. Since the Frakes era, the intros are filmed on a set resembling the interior of a Victorian mansion.

Each episode typically features five stories, at least one of which is supposedly true and at least one of which is a complete fabrication. The majority of true stories on the show are based on first-hand research conducted by author Robert Tralins yet mostly perpetuate hearsay or urban legends as facts, while many of the ones that turned out to be false are either completely fictional or modern-dressed re-tellings of untrue urban legends.

From season two onwards Jonathan Frakes would end each story with a pun related to the story, while James Brolin always retold a story instead of showing a clip.

Popularity, cancellation and revivals

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction had a sporadic airing schedule on its original networks, 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 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 Unfathomable), 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 (The Fifth Dimension), X-Factor: Wahre Lügen (True Lies) is a German series, and Scariest Places on Earth became X-Factor: Die wahre Dimension der Angst (The Real Dimension of Fear). ^{[2] [3]}

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 (The Unfathomable Returns), hosted by Detlef Bothe. While directly copying much of the original's style and studio setup, this revival was heavily panned by audiences due to the poorer production quality in comparison to the original. ^[4] The show was continued in 2019 and 2020 on RTL II and now has a total of six episodes, with the latest episodes receiving slightly more favorable reviews.

In October 2021, German private channel RTL II began broadcasting a revival of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, with Jonathan Frakes reprising his role as the host. The first new episode was broadcast in German-speaking countries on October 31, 2021. ^{[5] [6] [7]} Unlike previous seasons, the segments were produced and set in Germany, while the introductions by Jonathan Frakes were recorded in Los Angeles. Another set of two episodes aired in Germany on October 30, 2022. The new episodes were filmed in and around Los Angeles and are dubbed for German television. The production was executed by German studios Superama Film and Wiedemann & Berg Television and will feature 10 new stories. ^[8]

Episodes

Of the 239 stories told over the course of the 48 episodes, 139 were declared to be "fact." Each episode of the series' run had at least one "fiction" story and at least two "fact" stories.

Series overview

Segments in bold were marked "Fact" by the show.

Season	Episodes		Originally aired		TV Season	Time	Rank
			First aired	Last aired
1	6		May 25, 1997 (1997-05-25)	August 3, 1997 (1997-08-03)	1997–98	Sunday at 7:00 PM	TBA
2	13		January 23, 1998 (1998-01-23)	July 24, 1998 (1998-07-24)	1998–99	Friday at 8:00 PM	117 [9]
3	13		February 17, 1999 (1999-02-17)(Germany) January 21, 2000 (2000-01-21)(USA)	May 13, 1999 (1999-05-13)(Germany) August 18, 2000 (2000-08-18)(USA)	1999–2000	Friday at 8:00 PM	TBA
4	13		April 8, 2002 (2002-04-08)(Germany) June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27)(USA)	July 15, 2002 (2002-07-15)(Germany) September 5, 2002 (2002-09-05)(USA)	2001–02	Thursday at 8:00 PM (1,3, 5-13) Thursday at 9:00 PM (2,4) [10] [11]	TBA
5	5		October 31, 2021 (2021-10-31)(Germany)	March 5, 2023 (2023-03-05)	2021–2023	Halloween at 8:15 PM / Sunday 8:15 PM (2023)	TBA
6	1+		October 29, 2023 (2023-10-29)(Germany)	TBA	2023–	Sunday 8:15 PM	TBA

Season 1 (1997)

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28. Cynthia Anderson, Unsolved.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
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34. Only the details about the passenger surviving a shipwreck on board the Hindenburg were fiction.
35. Only the details about the relics the Model-T driver connected to the Titanic were fiction.
36. Krakatoa Prophecy – Samson’s Mysterious Dream MessageToEagle.com
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External links

• Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction at IMDb

No. overall	No. in season	Story titles	Host	Narrator	Original air date  [12]	Prod. Code [13]	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"The Apparition, The Electric Chair, On the Road, Number One With a Bullet & Dream House"	James Brolin	Don LaFontaine	May 25, 1997 (1997-05-25)	BEY-101	6.45 [14]
2	2	"The Viewing, The Subway, Kid in the Closet, Justice is Served & The Tractor"	James Brolin	Don LaFontaine	June 1, 1997 (1997-06-01)	BEY-102	7.43 [15]

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