The Outer Limits

The Outer Limits is a unique show that includes material that appeals to a very large/diverse audience without "selling out" like many Hollywood movies. The science fiction aspect is authentic and detailed while simple enough and explained well enough to be understood by any interested viewer. Each episode will provoke ongoing thought. The cast changes from episode to episode, however there are a couple stories/characters which are revisited time and again. You will also recognize some known faces. It seems almost every time I see the show there is a famous actor/actress playing one the main characters. I remember Alyssa Milano, Kevin Nealin, Natashia Henstrich, Ryan Reynolds and many others that fail to come to mind (sp?). There are many great episodes; I recommend finding and watching the episode "Ship". I do not know which season it is from.

I viewed the original Outer Limits in real time, when first broadcast and have since viewed the entire original series again and again in re-runs and complete on DVD. I find the New Outer Limits WELL MORE than just a remake of old retread episodes, as some of the more adolescent commentators have suggested.

With seven (7) years of programs versus just the two (2) years of the original series, the producers and writers have certainly added considerable new original stories and philosophical lines to a much longer running and very well produced (cable) TV series. Plots are intelligent, scientifically accurate projections of the unknown possibilities of the sometimes frightening and imminent future.

While most producers and directors in Hollywood ignorantly view Sci-Fi as indistinguishable from Horror and Fantasy, this series returns to the origins of Science Fiction in the logical, moral and philosophical projections of current new technologies into their possibly fearful near term realizations. This series does this very well and remains unique in its avoidance of the "shoot-em-up" video game monster mentally of much of the current generation. It has brains, history, a message and good entertainment. It is an adult series without unbearable teenage know-it-all fantasies. Hurray!

Now, if we can only get MGM to release the entire New Outer Limits series on DVD instead of just the six poor teaser discs and the 1st season now only available.

The Outer Limits was a television show from the mid-1960s. Like the Twilight Zone, unitary fictional stories with unexpected endings were presented. But the difference between both series was that this one was much more ambitious, its episodes were 1 hour long, the FX more sophisticated and the stories more elaborated. This 90s remake keeps the essence of the original alive. Some episodes are truly superlative, the cast and the direction are perfect, also everything that happens here is widely related to the scientific advances of the time, although all the episodes may be somewhat disparate, the vast majority are of a almost cinematic quality.

I discovered The Outer Limits in mid-2001 while it was in syndication. Sadly, I didn't realize that they had just wrapped their final season. I've been trying to catch all of the episodes on Sci-Fi, which has an erratic schedule for this show, to say the least!

I must say that I disagree with most of the negative comments that I've read so far, regarding this program. The series did indeed have some dud episodes -- especially the episodes which pieced together parts of other episodes to somehow make a "new" story. However, for the most part, the show ran 7 seasons with some very original, creative, and fresh concepts that in most cases held my attention until the very end. In fact, I felt sorry at the end of certain episodes that I wouldn't get to see more of the story, as each episode is a self-contained. Unlike many shows than ran for 7 seasons, I did not find a degradation in quality as the show wore on. In fact, my second-favorite episode ("A New Life") was from the final season.

While many writers were involved with the stories shown in The Outer Limits, a few were responsible for the majority of the episodes. It's interesting to take a look at some of the "themes" behind the show in general. The main (and stated) theme of The Outer Limits was to explore human nature and the consequence of human mistakes. However, a viewing of all episodes also reveals a disdain that the writers seem to hold for both the American military and Christianity. There were several episodes in which the military was either the villain, or the protagonist whose mistakes lead to the destruction of mankind. Christianity was frequently shown as the vehicle used to brainwash unsuspecting earthlings into helping aliens accomplish their evil goals. I am neither Christian nor involved with the military, but I found this apparent bias by the writers to be annoying, and sometimes ruined otherwise good episodes.

I liked how The Outer Limits mixed its endings between happy and catastrophic. That made things a bit less predictable, unlike many movies of today where you know in advance that the hero will survive and triumph.

If you're looking for a great episode, try "The Refuge". I won't detail any of the plot for you, since it's best watched without knowing anything in advance. It's from season 2, so I believe you can find it on the Season 2 DVD.

I haven't seen all the Outer limits episodes, but when I have tuned in I've seen some quite good episodes almost like a one-hour movie with good (if lesser known) guest stars. Others have been embarrassing to watch or just plain average, it seems the way they did things was to have mostly low budget "filler" episodes and save up for a great, blockbuster episode every now and then.

The Outer Limits seems to offer both the best and worst of TV, I say overall it's not a bad effort but viewers like me may lose patience when it starts to seem like a long time between good episodes. I'm surprised the show ran as long as it did, with every science fiction-themed show outside of Star Trek and Stargate being cancelled at the first opportunity.