BEYOND BELIEF: FACT OR FICTION
X-FACTOR: DAS UNFASSBARE

JONATHAN FRAKES
JAMES BROLIN
DON LAFONTAINE
CAMPBELL LANE
EBERHARD PRUFER

"Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction" was a hosted anthology television series where over 60 minutes, five mysterious stories were shown, where the people in each story meet strange or unexxplained events.; where the viewers needed to decide which stories were true or false. At the end, the host would let the viewers known, which stories were in fact true or false. The show was created by Lynn Lehmann, presented by Dick Clark Productions, and produced and aired by the Fox network from 25 May 1997 to 5 September 2002. Season 1 was hosted by James Brolin (1997), with season 2 to season 4 (1998 - 2000) by Jonathan Frakes. Don LaFontaine was the narrator from 1997 until 1999; with Campbell Lane as the narrator in 2002. The first three seasons were filmed in the USA, whilst the fourth season was filmed in Canada. In Germany, where "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction" was known as "X-Factor: Das Unfassbare" (The Unfathomable). In 2018 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series' premiere in Germany, RTL II produced two special episodes under the title "X-Factor: Das Unfassbare Kehrt Zuruck". The show was continued in 2019 and 2020 on RTL II and had a total of six episodes. In 2019 Frakes reprised his role once more for "FOX's Kickoff NFL pre-game show". In the clip, he hosts a Beyond Belief style show taking shots as targets like the NFL East division and the Cleveland Browns for failing to live up to their potential this season. 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; and with Eberhard Prüfer as the narrator. The first new episode was broadcast in German-speaking countries on 31 October 2021. 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 30 October 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, to feature 10 new stories. As of 2022, the English versions of these episodes have not been released in any market. JAMES BROLIN From IMDB: James Brolin was born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin on 18 July 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Brolin is an American actor who has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 27 August 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin. He is best known for his television roles such as Stephen Kiley on "Marcus Welby, M.D." (1969-1976), Peter McDermott on "Hotel" (1983-1988), and John Short in "Life in Pieces" (2015-2019), and his film roles such as Sergeant Jerome K. Weber in "Skyjacked (1972)", John Blane in "Westworld" (1973), General Ralph Landry in "Traffic" (2000), Jack Barnes in "Catch Me If You Can" (2002) and Emperor Zurg in the 2022 "Toy Story" spin-off film "Lightyear". JONATHAN FRAKES From IMDB: Jonathan Scott Frakes was born on 19 August 1952 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA. He is the son of Doris J. Yingling and James R. Frakes. His parents moved with Jonathan and his younger brother Daniel to Bethlehem in eastern Pennsylvania. There, his father taught English at Lehigh University, where he held the Fairchild chair in American Literature until his passing in 2002. Frakes is of German, and some English, ancestry. While growing up, Jonathan was introduced to jazz by his father and started playing the trombone when he was in fourth grade. As a child Jonathan was always friendly, funny and somewhat of an actor according to a childhood friend. In high school he played in the band and ran track. He graduated from Liberty High in Bethlehem in 1970. The day after he graduated he started classes at Pennsylvania State University, enrolling as a psychology major. The next summer he worked as an usher for the local theater and observed his peers thoroughly enjoying acting. He was motivated to switch his major to theater arts and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1974. At this point he decided to move to New York City and try to make it as an actor. The roles did not come easily so he had to take side jobs, such as a waiter, a furniture mover (where he injured up his back), and a stint as Captain America for Marvel Comics. Meanwhile he won roles in the Broadway musical "Shenandoah" and on the soap opera "The Doctors" (1969) as Vietnam veteran Tom Carroll from 1977 to 1978. At his agent's urging Jonathan moved to Los Angeles in late 1978 to try his hand at television guest appearances. He guest starred on several of the big prime-time shows of the time, including "Charlie's Angels" (1976), "Fantasy Island" (1977), "Barnaby Jones" (1973), "Quincy, M.E." (1976), "Highway to Heaven" (1984), "The Waltons" (1972), and "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979). During the 1980s, Jonathan landed a starring role in a prime-time soap opera, "Bare Essence" (1983), which had spun off a successful miniseries of the same name. However the show did not take off with the viewers and was soon canceled. He went back to guest appearances for two more years until he got the part of Stanley Hazard in the Civil War epic "North & South: Book 1, North & South" (1985). After spending more than six months filming all over the southern United States, he and his co-star, Genie Francis, fell in love (he had met her three years before when they co-starred in "Bare Essence" (1983)). During that time he and Genie did not have much to do with each other, other than his making fun of her hair, according to Genie. However three years later they were an item. In early 1987 Jonathan went to an audition for a new television series at the urging of his soon-to-be wife and her family. After six weeks, and seven auditions, he won the role that would bring him worldwide fame: that of Commander William Riker on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987). It was at this time, he and Genie announced their engagement. They would have to postpone their wedding twice because of his job but were finally married in the first-season hiatus on 28 May 1988. All of his new co-stars attended the wedding, along with "Star Trek" (1966) creator Gene Roddenberry. During the seven years Frakes starred on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987), he not only acted but discovered that he had a talent for directing. He helmed eight episodes in all and was invited to direct on the Next Generation spin-offs, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) and "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995). The day after his 42nd birthday, on August 20, his son, Jameson Ivor Frakes, was born. Jameson is named after both his grandfathers, the late James Frakes and the late actor Ivor Francis, Genie's father. During this time Jonathan actually turned down work, preferring to stay at home and raise his son with his wife. For the next two years he did a few guest appearances on television. In 1996 it was announced that he was to be the director of the next Star Trek film, "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996). He received critical praise for his work on the film and it became the highest grossing entry of the franchise to date. He formed a production company, Goepp Circle Productions, named after the street he lived on in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Just two days after his ninth wedding anniversary in 1997, Elizabeth Francis Frakes was born. Sadly just two weeks prior Jonathan's brother, Daniel, passed away from pancreatic cancer. In 1998 he was asked to direct the ninth Star Trek film, "Star Trek: Insurrection" (1998). Following mixed reviews for this film he continued to direct in movies and television, act in a few non-Star Trek roles, and starred in the tenth Star Trek film, "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002). CAMPBELL LANE Campbell Lane was born on 15 July 1935 and died on 30 January 2014. Lane was a Canadian actor who primarily did his work in Vancouver. He appeared in many television shows produced there, and was also a voice over artist. He narrated the 1999 video game Homeworld. DON LAFONTAINE Donald LeRoy LaFontaine was born on 26 August 1940 and passed away on 1 September 2008. LaFontaine was an American voice actor who recorded more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers over four decades. He became identified with the phrase "In a world ...", used in so many movie trailers that it became a humorous catchphrase. Widely known in the film industry, the man whose nicknames included "Thunder Throat", "The Voice of God" and "The King of Movie Trailers", became known to a wider audience through commercials for GEICO insurance and the Mega Millions lottery game. Below is a promo for the series:

LINKS

Internet Movie Data Base "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction"	Wikipedia "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction"	EPguides "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction"
Internet Movie Data Base "Jonathan Frakes"	Internet Movie Data Base "James Brolin"	TVTropes "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction"
Internet Movie Data Base "Don LaFontaine"	Internet Movie Data Base "Campbell Lane"	Internet Movie Data Base "Eberhard Prufer"

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