Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, the mind boggles

klondike

Post by klondike »

Now it's my turn to go: "Wow"!
Thanks for those final, deductive twists of "focus", Mike; I did know that "Eando" was a collective acronym for the Binder Bros., but oddly enough, though I've found a few sci-fi works by Otto Binder, I've never seen any solo efforts from sibling "E".
I must admit, although Adam Link was by far a less well-crafted piece of fiction than any of the half-dozen Asimov robot titles, I found it a cheerfully fun ride of pot-boiler adventure!
:)
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cinemalover
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Post by cinemalover »

Oops, it's been a long, long time since i revisited this set. I hope all that dust won't damage the DVD player...

Date watched:10/19/2007
Title: Outer Limits TV Show Season 2 Made: 1964-65
Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror Studio: MGM
Format: DVD Extras: Booklet
# of times viewed: This is the first time I've seen these in 20 or more years

This set is all 17 episodes from Season 2.
Episode watched:
Counterweight Originally aired: 12-26-1964

Do not attempt to adjust the picture....

The Outer Limits was always a very uneven series (not uncommon for anthology shows), where as it had many borderline brilliant episodes, it also had its share of puppy chow. This one came straight out of the doggy dish.

Cast:
Michael Constantine--Joe Dix
Jacqueline Scott--Alicia Hendrix
Charles Rodilac--Michael Lint
Larry Ward----Keith Ellis
Stephen Joyce--Captain Brandon
Crahan Denton--Dr. Martthew James
Sharry Marshal--Maggie O'hara
Sandy Kenyon--Henry Craif

Plot: A space flight to the unknown planet Antheon is planned and for unexplained reasons the flight will include six civilian passengers. Applicants have been whittled down and there are six people (5 men and 1 woman) who have reached the final testing stage. They will be put into a simulated space voyage to determine both their physical and psychological fitness to make the real flight. The trial flight includes Captain Brandon (Joyce) to "fly" the ship, and a hostess to serve meals. Their quarters are cramped, and they must all interact within very limited spaces.

As one of the passengers comments, "We're stuck with each other like blind dates, as my daughter would probably say."

The ship includes a "panic button" for any passenger to hit if they feel there is an emergency. However, once the panic button is pushed, all passengers will be disqualified from being passengers on the trip to Antheon.

On the "trip" they pass through an unannounced simulated meteor shower to test their reactions to adverse situations. At the time of the shower they seem to have gained an additional passenger in the form of a being made of light that creeps around the cabins. It rests on the passengers as they sleep, feeding all of their paranoia and causing them to surface.

Joe Dix (Constantine) wakes up from his sleep feeling as though someone is strangling him. He bursts into the hallway yelling, "I tell you, someone is trying to murder me!"

He, of course, suspects his fellow passengers. Each in their turn faces their fears and weaknesses, making the cabin feel very claustrophobic. This just heightens the hostilities as the passengers become openly aggressive toward each other. When one of the passengers dies of "fright" the others notice that a plant that has been growing in the ship's tiny lab has grown to epic proportions and is invading their cabin. Most of the passengers rush to hit the panic button but Joe stands in front of it with an axe to ward them off. no one is destroying his big financial opportunity of going on the space flight.

The light source turns out to be the resident life-form from the planet Antheon who has interrupted this test to once again show Earthlings that they are just children on the cosmic stage. They don't have the maturity or emotional stability to infect other worlds with their hostility. Simply put, don't call on us, we'll call on you. When we think you're ready. Oh, yeah, and until then, kindly cancel that planned visit to our residence. Blah, blah, blah.

3* (out of 10) Skip this one and rent The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Chris

The only bad movie is no movie at all.
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MissGoddess
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Re: Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, the mind boggles

Post by MissGoddess »

Does anyone check out the annual Zone-a-thon on SyFy? I love it! I have most of them on DVD but I still enjoy watching them "live". The "sweet" ones used to leave me flat, but this weekend I found myself enjoying the one about "Mr Beevis", the kooky little fellow who liked playing with children, stuffed animals, building model boats and whose guardian angel tried to make him more "normal". I liked the message. Then the one earlier today with Dick York playing a loan officer who could read people's minds. That was cute, too and what a cast, really. "Dr. Bellows" playing an embezzeler, my, my the mind reels.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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Re: Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, the mind boggles

Post by moira finnie »

MissGoddess wrote:Does anyone check out the annual Zone-a-thon on SyFy? I love it! I have most of them on DVD but I still enjoy watching them "live". The "sweet" ones used to leave me flat, but this weekend I found myself enjoying the one about "Mr Beevis", the kooky little fellow who liked playing with children, stuffed animals, building model boats and whose guardian angel tried to make him more "normal". I liked the message. Then the one earlier today with Dick York playing a loan officer who could read people's minds. That was cute, too and what a cast, really. "Dr. Bellows" playing an embezzeler, my, my the mind reels.
I forgot that this marathon was on, but after reading your post, I tuned in just in time to see John Hoyt and his third arm match wits with Barney Phillips and his third eye in the snowy restaurant!

I still find many of the episodes too unbearably sad to watch (Ernest Truex in "Kick the Can" epi kills me)--but the episode with Gladys Cooper as the old lady holed up in her condemned basement apartment, afraid of death, is a small masterpiece of acting, (that "new kid" Robert Redford may have something), writing and directing. The other one that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up is the one directed by Ida Lupino, "The Masks," which still gives me a shudder!

I do like the lighthearted shows, especially the one I cited above, "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" One show I would like to see again tonight is the nearly silent episode, "The Invaders" written by Richard Matheson and starring Agnes Moorehead. I'm sure that those who cherish Bewitched would not agree--but Moorehead should have had an Emmy for her acting in this one. It's on SyFy at 10:30 PM EDT.
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Re: Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, the mind boggles

Post by MissGoddess »

I agree about Aggie Moorehead's episode...wow what a stunner it is every time I see it. I always try to imagine the reactions of actors when they first look over the scripts for episodes like this...what must they be thinking. Some of this stuff is better than the movie roles they did at times.

The Robert Redford/Gladys Cooper epi is one that "haunted" me from my childhood. I always found it terrifying even though I was too little to really understand who and what was going on. All I knew is I felt so bad for Gladys and I was terribly afraid of Bob! The other one that terrified me was "Little Girl Lost". I'm not sure if it's aired yet and I think I talked about it earlier in this thread. I was convinced for years there was a "hole to another dimension" somewhere in our house and that I was bound to fall through it!

You are right about the sadness of many of the shows. They are often elegiac.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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Re: Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, the mind boggles

Post by ambervioletta »

The Twilight Zone has always been my favorite. Each year I look forward to their New Year marathon.

My favorite episodes are: 'A Stop at Willoughby', 'Time Enough at Last', & 'Five Characters in Search of an Exit'.

I do like The Outer Limits, but it never had the same appeal as TZ.
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