The Outer Limits

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.

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.

What can I say about the series dubbed the NEW OUTER LIMITS...Hmm.... Only that this was one of the best TV series ever assembled!! You have actors of all ages, The actors that are somewhat known and that time forgot. Everyone playing their part to exact perfection! These shows always have some type of moral story to them which most of the time (if not all the time) is very true! You can feel that the man whose voice is dubbed over the credits and in the beginning and ending believes what he is saying wholeheartedly! Not only do these shows have great story lines, they also throw you into them, get your mind racing, and your blood pumping. The original outer limits was a black and white in the 60's right, These shows made a triumphant comeback the likes of which I have never seen! The new twilight zone with Forest Whitaker was fun to watch, but the New OUTER LIMITS is where it's at! If you have not seen: I implore you to please check these episodes out, and you will see exactly what I mean! LONG LIVE THE NEW OUTER LIMITS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I actually started watching the series when I was 14 with the syndicated version being on my local CBS channel on Saturday...so didn't get much of the "content" that was being shown on showtime till I found it on DVD...the stories were always told in a mature way and I'm not referring to content but how the writing was never taken to feel juvenile or anything like that...was actually a fan of episodes that were interesting to me like the quality of mercy and sand kings episodes in particular...would recommend anytime I am asked about the show.

Always really good...at least most of the episodes I saw...