screenman For British viewers, 'The Outer Limits' was a ground-breaking piece of science fiction and fantasy. An import from The USA and screened on 'the other side' - ITV, as it then was - which was the only alternative to the ubiquitous BBC, this programme set a whole new standard in originality and budgeting.Beginning with a rather pretentious voice-over claiming to control the the television set and some silly hokum to reinforce the myth (I switched our set off and on again just to prove him wrong) the same narrator went on to offer an enigmatic intro to the story that followed.Subjects varied, and were often a tour-de-force for the imagination. Sometimes the effects were of such a frightening nature that, released as a feature-film, they might well have called for an X-rating at the time. The 'Zanti Misfits' certainly cost me a few sleepless nights.We would probably laugh at the effects today, but many of the underlying themes about science, politics, manipulation and control, and life itself, were very intelligently explored, as they are in all good sci-fi. For those of us with crows feet, the series was a revelation.

ShadeGrenade 'The Outer Limits' is often mentioned in the same breath as 'The Twilight Zone' as one of the peaks of '60's television science fiction, and with good reason. The shows have a good deal in common, both are anthologies based partly on published fiction and original works. Both were made in glorious monochrome, feature top-drawer actors of the day, and still stand up well nearly fifty years later.'Limits' was the creation of Leslie Stevens, but the man who produced the first season ( and wrote many classic episodes ) is most frequently credited with its success. He was Joseph Stefano, writer of the screenplay of Hitchcock's 'Psycho'. Stefano was responsible for establishing that each episode should have a 'bear' - his nickname for a monster. He also hired Conrad Hall to create the show's distinctive lighting effects, while the special effects ( good for the time ) were by Projects Unlimited. It goes without saying that a modern audience would probably find the 'bears' hilarious, but the series did not depend entirely for its impact on monsters. In 'Limits' you will find something closely approximating the poetry of science fiction.Each episode opened with the picture blurring, while an announcer warned that the set was now under 'their' control. It was a gimmick designed to invoke comparison with the famous Orson Welles 'War Of The Worlds' radio broadcast ( written by Stevens, incidentally ) which conned many into believing a real alien invasion was underway.Stand-out stories include 'A Feasibility Study' in which an American town is transported to an alien planet, 'The Zanti Misfits' sees the arrival on Earth of hideous bug monsters with human-like faces, 'The Bellero Shield' has a devious woman attempting to exploit alien technology for her own ends, 'The Man With The Power' features Donald Pleasance as a man able to destroy anyone at will, in 'The Production & Decay Of Strange Particles' ( great title! ) atomic power triggers terrifying transformations in people, 'The Galaxy Being' ( the show's pilot ) sees a radio ham accidentally making contact with a creature from the Andromeda constellation, 'The Forms Of Things Unknown' has David McCallum as the inventor of a 'time tilting' machine constructed out of hundreds of clocks. Somewhat out of place was 'The Hundred Days Of The Dragon', a conventional spy yarn in which the Red Chinese kill the President of The United States and replace him with an impostor, but it was gripping nevertheless.The impressive list of guest-stars included Barry Morse, Robert Culp, Carroll O'Connor, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Duvall, Sally Kellermann, Martin Landau, Sam Wanamaker, Warren Oates and Cliff Robertson. Special mention must be made of Dominic Frontiere, whose powerful music underlined the show's atmosphere of mystery and horror.'Limits' proved a surprise hit, and plans for a second season was laid. But when the network announced a change of time slot, Stefano resigned in protest. A new producer - Ben Brady - was appointed. Fans do not hold the second season in high regard, but a number of episodes, such as the two-parter 'The Inheritors', Harlan Ellison's 'Soldier' and 'Demon With A Glass Hand', are as good as anything to be found in the previous year.Unfortunately, the new time-slot lost 'Limits' viewers and it was abruptly cancelled. It appeared on I.T.V. ( usually in a late-night slot ) in the mid-'60's, and in 1980, B.B.C.-2 ran both seasons ( often jumbling up the episodes in haphazard fashion ) in one bumper run where it acquired a new audience.As a result of the success of 'The X-Files' in the 1990's, 'Limits' was resurrected by cable television. Some of the original shows - including 'I Robot', 'A Feasability Study' and 'The Inheritors' - were remade. The special effects were predictably better but alas little else was. The nudity it could have done well without.Luckily, both seasons of the original are out on D.V.D. and serve as a timely reminder of the greatness of '60's science fiction.

johcafra Having lately commented on The (original) Twilight Zone I would be remiss to not mention the other Stateside television series that premiered on another network during the original Zone's final season and carried the torch ever so briefly.The (original) Outer Limits was an anthology series of one-hour episodes that ran for only two seasons. You could argue its second, truncated season was vastly different from the first—but the same. Study the credits of its producers and directors. A bevy of proved actors and upcoming stars. Joseph Stefano in charge of scripts; Robert Towne and Harlan Ellison contributors. The principal DP later won three Oscars. For their time fairly exotic visual FX filmed in glorious black-and-white. Music and sound FX that did not get out of your head. Makeup artists who doubtless had a sparkling wit.What TOL lacked in the heightened insight and occasional subtlety provided by the original Zone was more than made up for with style, passion, and the tease of each episode's "bear." Not quite as ahead of its time as pitched, for the extrapolated science it appeared to rely on was always suspect. In hindsight the episodes are even less prophetic, except perhaps for "O.B.I.T." It's as easy to tick off a list of episodes I disliked. (Another user correctly points out some episodes take their sweet time getting to the end.) Some first came across as pretty d'd strange by any standard. But the ones that connected did so quite viscerally. If you keep an open mind they still do.The pilot episode, "The Galaxy Being," and "The Architects of Fear" remain truly unique treatments of First Contact. "The Inheritors," a two-parter, is the cleverest and most thoughtful episode and probably the best introduction for anyone who frightens easily. "A Feasibility Study," "Corpus Earthling," "Cry of Silence," "It Crawled Out of the Woodwork," "The Man Who Was Never Born," "Specimen: Unknown" and "The Zanti Misfits" kept me awake long after viewing.I commend the performances of John Hoyt in "The Bellero Shield" and David McCallum in "The Sixth Finger" as brilliant in more ways than one. Watch the first five or so minutes of George Macready's performance in "The Invisibles" and you won't think quite the same way about him ever again. You see a lot of Robert Culp and Robert Duvall; one could creep you out simply by flaring his nostrils and the other just by keeping a straight face.The Nineties successor series only proved it's all too easy now, and that's probably the best reason I still appreciate the original.

rcj5365 Over a 16-month run from 1963 to 1965,"The Outer Limits" spun the nation's A-bomb fears and love of a good(or very bad or diabolical evil)rubber monster into a secure spot on the holy science fiction trinity, right up there with "One Step Beyond","The Twilight Zone","Thriller","Voyage to the Bottom Of The Sea",and furthermore "Star Trek". Originally this classic science-fiction,part terror trilogy that blended humanist moralizing and cold war paranoia with Golden Age dramaturgy,space age allure and penny arcade Expressionism. The series,"The Outer Limits" ran for 49 episodes(all in classic black and white)and was originally on ABC-TV from September 16,1963 until the last episode of the series' run on January 16,1965 were produced for Daystar Productions in association with United Artists Television. The show's long cultural tenacles,beginning with one of the most quoted openings in television history("There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We will control the transmission.") The first season had some of the best episodes: The episode(The face-sucking squid creature in "Alien?") from season one of "The Outer Limits" titled "Corpus Earthling." The smoke monster of "Lost?" The rolling black cloud of "It Crawled Out Of The Woodwork" surelu shares some DNA. And long before Stephen King wrote about devilish topiary in "The Shining",the killer tumbleweeds(yes,tumbleweeds)of the second season episode "Cry of Silence" made rural life hell for a pre-"Green Acres" Eddie Albert.Guided through its first year by an eccentric producer named Leslie Stevens-who would direct pre-"Star Trek" William Shatner in "Incubus"(from the second season of the 1964-65 series),a horror flick spoken entirely in Esperanto-"Limits" found its dark heart with Joesph Stefano,who had written the "Psycho" screenplay and was the literary brain behind many of the episodes,and a young cimematopgrapher named Conrad Hall,who was schooled in German Expressionism and film noir(not only was Conrad Hall the cimematopgrapher for the television shows "Stoney Burke",which was also produced by Leslie Stevens and for "The Rat Patrol",but also whose career would go on to encompass "In Cold Blood","Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid",and "American Beauty"). The Stevens era resulted in top-notch episodes like the Shakespearean "The Bellero Shield",in which a fierce Sally Kellerman upstages a "Close Encounters"-style alien with her spin on Lady Macbeth and "Nightmare," in which human prisoners of war endure mental and physical torture on a distant planet. If nothing else,the twist ending to "Nightmare" proves that extraordinary rendition is nothing new. Capping the first season is "The Forms of Things Unknown," a wonderful episode that may have been derided by some critics,but by far it is one of the best episodes out of the entire series. In a lift from the mid-1950's film "Les Diaboliques",two women(Barbara Rush and,from "Psycho" Vera Miles)conspire to poison a sadistic blackmailing gigolo who proves too mean to stay dead. Deriative? Mannered? Too fond of itself? Shocking? In terms yes,but "Forms" is also great fun. After the first season,the Stevens group was out,and the second season provided some tedious creature features,with one outstanding exception: "The Demon With a Glass Hand",which was written by Harlan Ellison(and an inspiration for the "Terminator" films),is one of the best not to mention other great episodes as well like "The Mutant","The Futuristic Soldier","The Sixth Finger",and "Fun and Games",not to mention "The Brain That Wouldn't Die"(featuring David McCallum before his status as Illya Kuryakim on The Man From UNCLE). "The Outer Limits" had some astounding special effects,impressive alien and monster costumes(which featured some of the scariest monsters on TV,and the plots inventive with the suspense level brilliant enough to leave the viewer on edge with expecting the unexpected. Among the guest stars starring in some of the episodes were Robert Culp, Cliff Robertson, Michael Ansara, Martin Landau, Lloyd Nolan, Bruce Dern, Robert Duvall, Leonard Nimoy, and William Shatner.