Department of A.B.C. Television. The study was organised by the Department of Education at Cambridge University. The results suggested that children could forgive minor errors and effects as long as the story was compelling. Sydney Newman later commented "The most important thing we learnt is that if anyone thinks a young audience can be fooled or won sloppily or 'on the cheap' he is sadly mistaken". He also described his audiences as "discerning, intelligent and capable to handle new and innovative subject matter". Newman left ABC in 1962 to join BBC Television as Head of Drama. In 1963 he initiated the creation of Doctor Who. Two of the actors from the Pathfinders series would later go onto to play companions on Doctor Who. Michael Craze who originated Geoffrey Wedgwood in Target Luna played Ben Jackson alongside the First and Second Doctors, and Gerald Flood provided the voice of Kamelion with the Fifth Doctor. Many of the cast and crew from the Pathfinders series worked on three further science fiction serials: Plateau of Fear (1961) and its sequels: City Beneath the Sea (1961) and Secret Beneath the Sea (1962). All three serials would star Flood as scientific journalist Mark Bannerman and Guidotti as his photographer Peter Blake. Availability As was common at the time these shows were recorded on expensive videotape, which was later wiped and reused. Telerecordings of the Pathfinders series were made for sales to overseas broadcasters. However, Target Luna is currently missing from the television archive. The three Pathfinders series were also thought to be missing but were returned to the ITV from other broadcasters. In 2011 it was announced that the final missing episode had been discovered in ITV's own archive. All three Pathfinders serials were later released on DVD by Network DVD, 51 years after their original transmission. References External links 1960s British science fiction television series 1960 British television series debuts 1961 British television series endings Black-and-white British television shows British adventure television series British television miniseries English-language television shows ITV children's television shows Lost television shows Space adventure television series Television shows produced by ABC Weekend TV Television series by ITV Studios