The Outer Limits

I was a fan of this show from the premier episode of "The Galaxy Being" which I saw when I was ten years old. I just recently was given the DVD set of both seasons. It's great to be able to see THE UNCUT episodes the way they were originally broadcast. It's true that the special effects of the early 60's are rather crude compared to what can be done with CGI today, however, the original Outer Limits made up for it by two things which often are missing in todays science fiction movies and series:excellent story lines with equally excellent acting. Another thing which always stood out for me was the music score which accompanied each episode. I was surprised when my teenage daughter watched some of the episodes with me and like them. One episode which resonated with her was "Don't Open Til Doomsday" It was weird having her discuss the episode with me and express the same feelings that I had 42 years ago when I saw it for the first time. I have to say that when the technology allowed for more realistic and fantastic special effects it seemed to take the heart out of good story telling. Even though I watched The new Outer Limits on Showtime and enjoyed it I feel that it still was inferior to the original series.

If you wanted to know what really good,really spectacular effects along with a good story for maximum effort,then this show set the standard for all science fiction shows as we know it today. And for good reason. For one the stories were based on science fiction subjects ranging for nuclear explosions,aliens and extraterrestials from another world(and some of the most scariest monsters on TV back then!),and creatures from beyond the depths of imagination,and secondly humans who tried to communicate beyond the point of other dimensions and other lifeforms. This show came along with the status of other science fiction shows that domination TV sets throughout the 1960's,with titles like "The Twilight Zone", "Boris Karloff's Thriller","Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea","Lost in Space","Star Trek",and the UFO series "The Invaders". In my opinion about this show it scares the daylights out of me every time I see it. The new version doesn't have a clue to what the original was like,and to me the original rules. Point Blank. Even though it ran for two astounding seasons and producing a total of 49 episodes running in prime-time for ABC-TV from September 16,1963 until January 16,1965,the science-fiction/horror anthology series "The Outer Limits" brought some of the most electrifying special effects ever devised for TV(it would have really fantastic if the original series would have stayed around for another season to make its transition to color but the entire series was shown in black and white). During its first season, the series brought in astounding ratings then toward its second season the powers that be at ABC torpedoed it when it moved from Monday nights to Saturday nights opposite "The Jackie Gleason Show",and "Flipper" which clobbered it in the ratings. Several episodes do stand out as brilliant that made up the guest star roster ranging from future "Star Trek" cast members William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Grace Lee Whitney, James Doohan and DeForest Kelley. Other guest stars were Donald Pleasence, Adam West, Arlene Martel, David McCallum, Barbara Luna, Jill Haworth to Martin Sheen, Sally Kellerman, Robert Culp, Michael Ansara, Eddie Albert,Cliff Robertson and future Oscar winner Robert Duvall. There were 32 episodes for Season 1 of this series that aired from September 16, 1963 until May 4,1964. For its second and final season when ABC moved the series from Monday nights to Saturday nights in an earlier time slot opposite "The Jackie Gleason Show" and "Flipper" a total of 17 episodes aired from September 19,1964 until January 16,1965 when it was canceled in mid-season. The show that replaced "The Outer Limits" on January 24,1965 was the variety family series "The King Family Hour".

I was nine years old when this classic series debuted. The episodes that scared me the most and the reasons why were: "Nightmare" (the sadistic powers of the Ebonite control rod), "It Crawled Out of the Woodwork" (a swirling cloud-monster frightening people to death), "The Guests" (being dragged upstairs for interrogation by a gelatinous brain), "Don't Open Till Doomsday" (being seized and drawn into a box inhabited by a one-eyed alien blob), "A Feasibility Study" (having your neighborhood kidnapped and taken to an alien world while you sleep), and "The Production and Decay of Strange Particles" (radiation suits taken over by energy beings whose face masks glow with lightning bolts). Episodes I really enjoy now are "Demon With A Glass Hand" (great location in the darkened, dilapidated office building, total suspense), "Architects of Fear" (Robert Culp's superb portrayal of a man being transformed into an alien and losing his sanity), "O.B.I.T" (an early commentary about the dangers of electronic spying and loss of privacy), "ZZZZZ" (insects turn the tables on humankind and send one of their own to our world), "The Bellero Shield" (Sally Kellerman's excellent portrayal of a "murderous wife"), "The Invisible Enemy" (sea serpent-like beasts dragging their victims underneath the sand) and "The Mice" (who could forget the grinding claws and constant stalking behavior of this grotesque monster alien?). I do favor the first season more than the second season, because the episodes and story plots are harsher and darker with very chilling music.

In general, series creator Joe Stefano's suspicion of government and scientific research institutions and their motives is truly admirable. Also, he does not always make the aliens the bad guys, as shown in "Nightmare" when the Ebonite wants to put a stop to Earth-government sanctioned torture of POW's. "Outer Limits" on DVD brings an even richer, louder and penetrating quality to this outstanding series. Also, "The Outer Limits: The Official Companion" is a great book for information about the show's production and episodes.

Let me take you back. Let me pull you there. A male human child of 6 cycles. It is 1963. Dad was cool and suggested we watch this new 'weirdo' show. We did that sort of thing together - bonding, don't you know? From the very first second the show was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The set up? We just lost control of our TV sets and 'they' were going to show us something - 'awe and mystery'. I'm all for that. 'The Twilight Zone' had already done this...yet this was something different. The visuals combined with the truly subversively semi-subliminal (I hope) sound effects - very compelling. It pulled you right in, teased and hypnotized. Then, that gut wrenching music slowly wanders in and disorients. Hurry up, commercial! Get over already! (Commercials were somewhat shorter back then as I recall)

I believe the first episode, which I haven't seen in years, segued right from the sine-wave intro. I also recall the intro as being a bit longer with the first few episodes. I could be wrong. These were on TV and - you know - TV takes liberties. Later episodes started right in on the action...a prologue to tease you for what's to come. Then - a crescendo note of surprise, awe and mystery - the 'sine-wave- intro. I want to watch this! This same technique was later adopted by such peers as 'The X-files'.

Folks! The original Outer Limits intro was fun! It was almost art...the first season anyway. I do like the 'new' Outer Limits on occasion - but that intro of theirs? Ugh, I can't wait til it's over and the show starts. The intro of the original series came as a part of the package.

Then we have those stories. A child of 6 expects monsters to be monsters. Many of these monsters - each horrific in a surprisingly memorable way - turned out to be well-meaning or benign. That will certainly screw with the perceptive 6 year old mind. So, the monster under my bed might not be a monster at all? Wow!

Yes, those stories were assisted by the most symbiotic music I had heard at the time. Those dirges piped in at just the right moment, working the mood into a niche, and making the plot point. You know, we, the audience, were being seduced by the notes to 'listen up! You might learn something'. The second season unfortunately lost these tunes and were replaced by this wavering 1950-ish B-movie ilk. I shouldn't bash it. It wasn't bad - it just wasn't the Frontiere-groove anymore, man.

I could adorn each episode with praises. Even a bad one was better for me than anything else on TV then. If they were on today I would still watch a bad episode. They still made you consider your place in the Universe. Sometimes they even scared the crap out of you. But the good episodes were gems! Those creatures were fantastic. At the time our local station edited 'Architects Of Fear' so we never got to see the creature since it was deemed too scary. The story still held together even without the extra boost a fearsome face would provide. Many years later I finally saw what the creature looked like. I can see why the stations did what they did for that innocent era. I probably would have screamed myself to sleep. 'Zanti Misfits' had me doing that anyway. The 'Bellero Shield' had me upset for years. I think I actually understood the ending at 6 years old.

So, I am not going to keep listing episodes. I like them all and will be owning them in my library.

Bottomline, folks! If you haven't seen any of these - DO! Unfortunately short-lived, these early episodes are a one-of-a-kind example of good TV. Rare and perhaps extinct. A series that didn't underestimate its audience and nearly always challenged them. Giving this an 8 because of the poor second season - though the first season is frequently easily a 9 or above.

I don't care what anyone says, this is THE series that changed television and ushered in Sci-Fi and human frailty with excellent, excellent scripts.

Okay, I'll admit, I was three, four and five years old respectively when this series had its first run. And again I will write the words parents don't want to hear or read about: "I remember". Not all, but most. Many of them I caught on re-runs in syndication when I was in my 20's and said, "Oh yeah, this is the one."

But let me tell you about the ones I remember. I remember -- "The Architects of Fear", "The Sixth Finger", "Keeper of the Purple Twilight", "The Zanti Misfits", "Fun and Games", "Demon With a Glass Hand", "The Man Who was Never Born", "It Came from the Woodwork", "Children of Spider County", "I, Robot", "The Invisibles" and the wonderful, wonderful two parter, "The Inheritors".

Those would be the "classics", but there are so many more. What do I remember about those? The Monsters and/or special effects. I didn't quite grasp how well written these were until much, much later. Make no mistake, they are very well written and thought provoking, alot of lessons to be learned/things to ponder even in 2003.

A few notes from me though -- when ABC executive Ben Brady took over, (I guess around 1965?) some of the stories went more "soap opera" than the ones before it. They were still excellent stories but now with Ben Brady leading the helm, you knew his breakthrough night time series "Peyton Place" was rolling around in his mind. Again, this is something I noticed, way later upon syndication views.

I've always had a secret wish, and that was to take a few of these classic Outer Limits series and develop a feature film out of each them. Some are so well written and hit right to the center of your brain to make you take a moment and wonder, seriously, about your world around you and those who are in charge of it.

I am in love with this series. It is classic television, classic Sci-Fi, classic story writing and even though these folks had a nickel and a dime for a special effects budget, they did very, very, well for its time.

Along with the writers, the creators of this 60's series, The Outer Limits, I also have to add that the music was to die for. It added so much to each installment. That and the main Cinematographer, the late, great, Conrad Hall. Wanta see the beginning of excellent work in cinnematography on a less than shoestring budget? Watch these. A must for all film students. You'll be so overwhelmed and wonder how could they do this for the money they had in the 60's no less.

A must for everyone's library. I own every single one of the issues on VHS and started collecting on DVD. A genius of a series. A wonderful collaboration of Producers, Directors, Writers, Network, Actors, Actresses everyone to make a series that will be immortal. This series is beyond excellent.