Discovering The Outer Limits (original)....

[Warped9]

"The Human Factor." My first disappointment...except for Sally Kellerman. It's not a bad episode, but it didn't wow me either. I just couldn't get into it.

"Corpus Earthling." Second episode with Robert Culp and my second disappointment after "The Human Factor." Again, not horrible but not very compelling either. At least the makeup for the possessed humans was more restrained, more like the body reacting in some allergic fashion to an infection or something.

"Nightmare" has me thinking I've hit something of a lull in the calibre of episodes. I suspected early on enough that the supposed POWs were actually undergoing some sort of test or experiment rather than an actual interrogation. It's hard to put my finger on why, but I found this one rather boring.

Still, I can just imagine the impression this show must have made in the early '60s considering what other sci-fi was available back then: Wow, an adult and nuanced (for the most part) approach to science fiction. I have to agree with some who've said that outer space f/x shots tend to look out of place compared with everything else done.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Well, again, it's not hard to outguess some of them now, after they've been homaged for nearly fifty years. Also, you're not required to love every episode.

If some episodes seem predictable, it's only because they've been ripped off... er, "homaged" ...so many times. The basic plot of "Architects Of Fear," for example, is apparent in Watchmen. And Ellison's episodes "Soldier" and "Demon With A Glass Hand" are recognizable influences on Terminator.

Well said!

Thanks.

 

[stj]

Like all anthology or serial shows, the quality varies. I think my favorite is the two parter The Inheritors, but Feasibility Study, the comedy about the Martians changing time in a murder, the comedy Behold Eck!, David McCallum with the clocks are all favorites. (Have trouble remembering the titles for some reason.)

 

[Warped9]

"It Came Out Of The Woodwork" is a bit of a step up from the three previous episodes. Seeing a younger Ed Asner as well as Barbara Luna (Marlena from TOS' "Mirror, Mirror") and Michael Forest (Apollo from TOS' "Who Mourns For Adonais?") was cool. Still, I don't think this episode grabbed me like the first half dozen or so episodes.

But to be clear none of these episodes has been a stinker.

 

[byron lomax]

I disagree about "Nightmare", which personally I thought was fantastic. "Corpus Earthling" was the weakest of Robert Culp's three episodes, but was still damn good.

"OBIT" and "The Man Who Was Never Born" are my favourites of what you've seen so far. But there are more to come!

 

[Warped9]

"The Borderland." Weird idea of mixing science with the occult. The scientists do play on a grieving father's obsession to reach his dead son on "the other side" even though they don't actually promise anything. This was a strange story and the scientist having his left hand reversed was freaky.

 

[Warped9]

"Tourist Attraction." I kept trying to imagine this story with a more convincing looking creature. The eyes were too big and it looked a little too stiff in motion. But otherwise this was a fine enough story that I enjoyed.

 

[Warped9]

Just watched "The Zanti Misfits." Like "The Galaxy Being" it's a perfect OL title.

I didn't know what to expect with this episode. For one thing there's some poor acting from some of the cast. But as a story it was cool. Essentially the Zanti don't have it in them to execute their own criminals so they'll just let someone good at it do it for them, thank you very much.

The ship looked awfully small for the number of Zanti apparently transported in it, but that's limited f/x for you. This was another one of those episodes that I kept imagining with better f/x resources. Even so it was cool.

 

[byron lomax]

Loved the Zanti Misfits, what a great twist at the end! It's interesting you liked "Tourist Attraction", which is widely considered the weakest episode of the series. I haven't even watched it.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I love "Zanti Misfits." It's one of my favorite episodes. The aliens are creepy, especially their weird little faces, and there's a nice twist ending.

 

[Warped9]

....and there's a nice twist ending.

Yes! I admit that I didn't see that ending coming. I actually suspected the misfits weren't actually criminals at all and were the genuinely peaceful ones.

 

[Noname Given]

I just watched "The Hundred Days Of The Dragon" and I have to say it wasn't bad. The B&W film and cinematography really lent this a sense of atmosphere. The acting was very good. There was an element of predictability to the story, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Sure, the SF element was on the incidental side, but it was okay.

Next up was "The Architects of Fear." Something rather X-Files like to this episode and decades before the supposed "alien autopsy" film shown on Fox. It didn't blow me away, but it was okay. I also appreciated that the subject's wife didn't come across as the stereotypical hysteric who screamed at the drop of a hat. So far I'd have to say my experience with the series is 3-for-3.

I think it also helps to remember the context of this show and when it was made. The late '50s and early '60s was something of an optimistic time (in some respects) and not broadly touched by the apparent cynicism of today. The U.S. and Soviet space programs were just getting cranked up and there was interest in all manner of the sciences. It wasn't hard to lend a tangible sense of wonder to speculating about what could be possible and what might lay in the future. That said it's nice to see how talented writers and creators could take a nuanced approach to the subject matter.

So far, very cool!

I honestly have to disagree with you assessment of the late 50's early 60's as it wasn't all that optimistic given:

- The McCarthy Hearings (and blacklistings). In fact, I'd say the OL episode O.B.I.T. was a take on the McCarthy era of a sort.

- The Bay Of Pigs and Cuban Missle Crisis
- The JFK an MLK assasinations.
- The Gulf of Tonkin incident
- The major Vietnam War protests and the Kent State incident.

Even the films of the era are reflective of a time where people are uneasy:

- Dr, Strangelove
- Seven Days in May
- The Manchurian Candidate
- Fail Safe

Again, the late 50's and 60's were as turbulent as today in a lot of respects.

Again, you might consider this OT - but in looking at a lot of both the OL and Twilight Zone episode content (and yes, the Twilight Zone went for that sort of thing; BUT, if people weren't thinking along similar lines, the stories wouldn't resonate as well as they do - imo.)

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ The times were equally-- or more-- turbulent, but the mood was different. There was more optimism and feeling of impending change, rather than the morbidity and veneer of faux cynicism that is common today.

 

[Greg Cox]

^^ The times were equally-- or more-- turbulent, but the mood was different. There was more optimism and feeling of impending change, rather than the morbidity and veneer of faux cynicism that is common today.

I don't know. It wasn't only STAR TREK-style optimism. Look at the TWILIGHT ZONE, which reflected a much darker, more anxious mood. Remember all the episodes in which civilization is wiped out by a nuclear war, or even the ones where unhappy, troubled people long for a simpler, more idyllic time? Even the more sentimental episodes like "Night of the Meek" or "Nothing in the Dark" are laced with despair and quiet desperation.

Don't forget. The fifties and sixties also gave us TALES FROM THE CRYPTY, PSYCHO, PLANET OF THE APES, and plenty of classic film noir, reflecting the dark underbelly of the times.

 

[Christopher]

^Indeed, part of why Star Trek drew in such a loyal fanbase is because something that optimistic about the future was rare and refreshing back then. It was just a few years earlier that the Cuban Missile Crisis had come within a hair's breadth of triggering nuclear war. There was a pervasive sense that humanity's days were numbered.

 

[Warped9]

Well, I've been sufficiently impressed with this volume of episodes that today I picked up Volumes 2 and 3 to complete the set. Now onto watching another episode, the last two episodes of Volume 1...

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ The times were equally-- or more-- turbulent, but the mood was different. There was more optimism and feeling of impending change, rather than the morbidity and veneer of faux cynicism that is common today.

I don't know. It wasn't only STAR TREK-style optimism. Look at the TWILIGHT ZONE, which reflected a much darker, more anxious mood. Remember all the episodes in which civilization is wiped out by a nuclear war, or even the ones where unhappy, troubled people long for a simpler, more idyllic time? Even the more sentimental episodes like "Night of the Meek" or "Nothing in the Dark" are laced with despair and quiet desperation.

Don't forget. The fifties and sixties also gave us TALES FROM THE CRYPTY, PSYCHO, PLANET OF THE APES, and plenty of classic film noir, reflecting the dark underbelly of the times.

True enough, but most of that stuff (with the exception of Psycho) were cautionary tales. Whereas today there seems to be little optimism or caution, just a lot of wallowing.

 

[Warped9]

I liked "The Mice," a story of Earth and another world exchanging visitors or subjects through teleportation. I also applaud the attempt to show an non humanoid type alien, as crude as it was. The idea of using a convicted felon as a volunteer test subject was interesting too.

"Controlled Experiment" was rather fun as two Martians (Barry Morse and Carroll O'Connor) use a time control device to observe a murder in progress in hopes of understanding why humans kill each other.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Also notable for feature Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand).

 

[Saga]

just wait till you see the ep with Shatner.