Game show Beyond Reason

Developed by former evangelist writer and radio commentator Allen Spraggett, Beyond Reason originated as a summer replacement for the popular CBC game show Front Page Challenge. Beyond Reason provided a psychic take on Front Page Challenge. The panelists included an astrologer, graphologist and a clairvoyant. Armed only with a birth chart, a handwriting sample and a personal possession, the psychic panel tries to guess the identity of the hidden guests.

The show ran from 1977 to 1980 out of Winnipeg. Some famous guests that appeared on the show include pool champ Minnesota Fats, opera singer Maureen Forrester, comedian Frank Shuster and actor Nicholas Campbell.

The mystery visitor in this 1977 episode is an astronomer and an esteemed ufologist. He was the technical adviser on the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind and is the world's leading expert on UFOs.

Astrologer Geoff Gray-Cobb misses the mark when he presumes the guest likes to gamble and works in a food-related field. Psychic graphologist Marilyn Rossner doesn't fare much better.

She wrongly guesses that he composes music. But clairvoyant Irene Hughes hits the psychic bull's eye. Talking about "a terrible frightening feeling" emanating from the guest's watch and wallet, she correctly identifies the mystery guest as Dr. J. Allen Hynek.

Posted on Sep 17, 2011 6:00:00 AM