The Omega Factor

1979 · horror · romance · science-fiction · thriller · BBC Scotland

British sci-fi horror series created by Jack Gerson that aired for a single 10-episode run on BBC1 in 1979. It stars James Hazeldine as journalist Tom Crane, whose possession of untapped psychic powers bring him to the attention of the shadowy Department 7, a "need to know only" government organisation which investigates paranormal phenomena. Department 7 is headed up by psychiatrist Dr. Roy Martindale (John Carlisle) and includes physicist Dr. Anne Reynolds (Louise Jameson), an old friend of Crane's late wife; his wife's death in a car crash caused by the powerful rogue psychic Edward Drexel (Cyril Luckham) and Crane's desire for revenge is the impetus for him joining Department 7. The series' combination of sci-fi, horror, thriller, and shadowy government conspiracies, plus the will-they-won't-they between Crane and Reynolds makes it a precursor to the X-Files , and a classic of British sci-fi television. This archive includes the 2005 retrospective documentary Inside the Omega Factor .