The Omega Factor is a British television series produced by BBC Scotland in 1979. It was created by Jack Gerson and produced by George Gallaccio, and transmitted in ten weekly episodes between 13 June and 15 August.

The series concerns a journalist called Tom Crane (James Hazeldine), who finds that he possesses psychic powers which in turn bring him to the attention of the team of scientists who comprise Department 7, a secret "need to know only" government off-shoot investigating paranormal phenomena and the potential of the human mind. The phenomena explored include hypnosis, brainwashing, extra-sensory perception, telekinesis, poltergeist phenomena, out-of-body experiences and spiritual possession.

Crane joins Department 7 as a means of finding and revenging himself on Edward Drexel (Cyril Luckham), a powerful rogue psychic who is responsible for the death of Crane's wife. His work with the department, and his own psychic gift, lead Crane to suspect a deadly conspiracy by a mysterious organisation called Omega to take over the world using mind control. The members of Department 7 include physicist Dr. Anne Reynolds (Louise Jameson), an old friend of Crane's wife; and the shady head of the department, psychiatrist Dr Roy Martindale (John Carlisle). Most episodes see the driven and impetuous Crane in impatient conflict with the cautious and secretive Martindale, with Anne caught in the middle. Although various subplots develop over the course of the series - notably Crane's hunt for Drexel, his growing suspicions about the Omega conspiracy and his developing relationship with Anne - the episodes are largely self-contained and do not end in cliffhangers to be taken up the following week.

Only lasting for one series of ten episodes, The Omega Factor promptly vanished without trace, possibly thanks to the objections of public moralist Mary Whitehouse, who called the episode Powers of Darkness "thoroughly evil" because it depicted hypnosis, the supernatural and a man burning to death. However, a recent DVD release has prompted a long overdue re-evaluation. The series' combination of science fiction, horror and thriller elements, and its narrative focus on shadowy government departments and conspiracies to gain world domination, as well as the chemistry between James Hazeldine's and Louise Jameson's characters, in many ways anticipates the 1990s TV phenomenon The X-Files.

A novel by Jack Gerson, telling the story of Crane's hunt for Drexel (a substantially different story from that in the broadcast series, aside from the first episode which the novel duplicated faithfully), was published to accompany the series.

From Wikipedia