''Panic!'', broadcast as ''No Warning!'' during its second season, is a half-hour American

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

. Its 31 episodes aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from 1957 to 1958. The series host was

Westbrook Van Voorhis Cornelius Westbrook Van Voorhis (September 21, 1903 – July 13, 1968) was a narrator for television programs and movies. He is perhaps best known for his work on ''The March of Time'' radio and newsreel series, where he became known as the "V ...

Premise and production

Each episode began with a person facing a sudden physical or emotional crisis. ''Panic!'' was produced by McCadden Productions. Al Simon was the producer.

Rod Amateau Rodney Amateau (December 20, 1923 – June 29, 2003) was an American film and television screenwriter, director, and producer. Career Among the programs that he directed were '' The Dennis Day Show'', ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', ...

was the director, and David Dotort was the writer.

Schedule

The 30-minute ''Panic!'' was broadcast at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays on NBC from March 5, 1957, through September 17, 1957. It replaced ''Noah's Ark'' and was sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes and Max Factor cosmetics. In June 1957 network executives commissioned 21 additional episodes. Repeats of previous episodes were shown until September 17, 1957, leaving the new episodes to be broadcast later. The first episode of ''No Warning!'' was broadcast on NBC on April 6, 1958, and the last episode was on September 7, 1958. Fourteen episodes were original, and nine were repeats of episodes of ''Panic!''.

Guest stars

Among notable guest stars were

June Havoc June Havoc (born Ellen Evangeline Hovick;Ancestry Library Edition November 8, 1912 – March 28, 2010) was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, stage director and memoirist. Havoc was a child vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her ...

Darryl Hickman Darryl Gerard Hickman (July 28, 1931 – May 22, 2024) was an American actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous television seria ...

Pamela Mason Pamela Mason (10 March 1916 – 29 June 1996), also known as Pamela Kellino, was an English actress, author, and screenwriter, known for being the creative partner and first wife of English actor James Mason. Early life and personal life Born ...

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

Norman Leavitt Norman Turner Leavitt (December 1, 1913 – December 11, 2005) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Leavitt was born in Lansing, Michigan. He began his stage career in 1935, appearing as a wedding guest in the Broa ...

Trevor Bardette Trevor Bardette (born Terva Gaston Hubbard; November 19, 1902 – November 28, 1977) was an American film and television actor. Among many other roles in his long and prolific career, Bardette appeared in several episodes of ''Adventures of Su ...

, William Kendis,

Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as secret agent Nap ...

, James Parnell,

Barbara Billingsley Barbara Billingsley (December 22, 1915 – October 16, 2010) was an American actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in '' Three Guys Named Mike'' (1951), '' The Bad and the Beautiful'' (1952), and '' Invaders from Mars'' (1953) and ...

, Paul Burke,

William Fawcett William or Bill Fawcett or ''variation'', may refer to: People * William Fawcett (actor) (1894–1974), American actor who was awarded the ''Légion d'honneur'' * William Fawcett (author) (1902–1941), English journalist and writer on horses, hun ...

Clark Howat John Clark Howat (January 22, 1918 – October 30, 2009) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Howat was born in Calaveras County, California. He began his career in 1947, appearing in the Broadway play ''The Wanhope ...

Gary Hunley Gary Hunley (born May 22, 1948) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Mickey in the final season of the American western television series ''Sky King''. Hunley was born in Los Angeles, California. In 1954 he appeared ...

Vivi Janiss Vivi Janis (born Vivian Audrey Jamison; May 29, 1911 – September 7, 1988) was an American actress, known for such films as ''The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues'' (1955), ''Man on the Prowl (film), Man on the Prowl'' (1957), and ''First, You Cry'' ...

Ken Mayer Ken Mayer (June 25, 1918 – January 30, 1985) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Major Robbie Robertson in the 1950s television series, '' Space Patrol''. Career Following service in the United States Army Air Corps' int ...

Chris Alcaide Chris Alcaide (October 22, 1923 – June 30, 2004) was an American film and television actor. He mostly appeared on western television shows including, ''Gunsmoke'', ''Bonanza'', ''Rawhide'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'', '' Trackdown'', '' L ...

Mercedes McCambridge Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress". She won an Academy Award for Best Support ...

, Ray Kellogg,

Ann Rutherford Therese Ann Rutherford (November 2, 1917 – June 11, 2012) was a Canadian-born American actress in film, radio, and television. She had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict during the 1930s and 1940s in the An ...

Dale Ishimoto Dale Ishimoto (April 3, 1923 – March 4, 2004) was an American actor of Japanese descent. He was born in Delta, Colorado in 1923 and was raised in Guadalupe, California. Military service After being sent to the Gila River internment camp in Ar ...

Robert Burton Robert Burton (8 February 1577 – 25 January 1640) was an English author and fellow of Oxford University, known for his encyclopedic ''The Anatomy of Melancholy''. Born in 1577 to a comfortably well-off family of the landed gentry, Burton a ...

Jess Kirkpatrick Jesse Bertram Kirkpatrick (October 2, 1897 – August 9, 1976) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Kirkpatrick was born in Champaign County, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois, where he played as a halfb ...

Ray Teal Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Teal's birth date as January 12, 1908. – April 2, 1976) was an American actor. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the televis ...

Paul Stader Paul Stader (February 13, 1911 – April 10, 1991) was an American actor, assistant director and stuntman. Life and career Stader was born in Neosho, Missouri. He attended at the University of Kansas, where he played football and practiced s ...

Peggy Knudsen Margaret Ann "Peggy" Knudsen (April 22, 1923 – July 11, 1980) was an American character actress. Early life She was born Margaret Ann Knudsen in Duluth, Minnesota. Her father was Conrad Knudsen, Duluth's fire chief. Her ancestors were Irish an ...

, Alan Dexter,

Frank J. Scannell Francis J. Scannell (May 7, 1903 – November 29, 1989) was an American film and television actor. He appeared in over 100 films and television programs, including six appearances in the American western television series ''The Life and Legend o ...

and

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. She began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Awa ...

Episodes

In the 1957 episode "Marooned," James Mason, his wife Pamela and children

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and

Morgan Morgan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film * ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama * ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller * ...

portrayed a family trapped in a high rise building. "The Priest" (1957) dealt with a priest who heard a man's confession about planning a murder. When the man died before giving details, the priest (played by Whitmore) turned detective to try to prevent the murder.

Critical response

A review in the trade publication ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described ''Panic!'' as "a routine dramatic series." It said, "Off-camera narration by Westbrook Van Voorhis provided a strong dramatic boost, while the dramatic performances were okay."

References

External links

*
''Panic! (TV series) Episode list at CVTA''
1950s American anthology television series 1957 American television series debuts 1958 American television series endings NBC television dramas Black-and-white American television shows Television series by Universal Television {{US-tv-prog-stub