THE OUTER LIMITS - Individual Base Card from the series issued by DuoCards in 1997

The Outer Limits is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from September 16, 1963 to January 16, 1965 at 7:30PM Eastern Time on Mondays. The series is often compared to The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction stories (rather than stories of fantasy or the supernatural matters). The Outer Limits is an anthology of self-contained episodes, sometimes with a plot twist at the end.

The series was revived in 1995, airing on Showtime from 1995 to 2000, then on Sci-Fi Channel from 2001 until its cancellation in 2002. In 1997, the episode "The Zanti Misfits" was ranked #98 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

As of April 2019, a new revival was stated to be in the works at a premium cable network.

Series overview

Introduction

Each show would begin with either a cold open or a preview clip, followed by a "Control Voice" narration that was mainly run over visuals of an oscilloscope. Using an Orwellian theme of taking over your television, the earliest version of the narration ran as follows:

“There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to– The Outer Limits. “


Later episodes used one of two shortened versions of the introduction. The first few episodes began simply with the title screen followed by the narration and no cold open or preview clip. The Control Voice was performed by actor Vic Perrin.

The Outer Limits was originally broadcast on the American television network ABC (1963–65). In total, 49 episodes were produced. It was one of many series influenced by The Twilight Zone and Science Fiction Theatre, though it ultimately proved influential in its own right. In the unaired pilot, the series was called Please Stand By, but ABC rejected that title (NBC would later approve the title for their 1979 comedy series). Series creator Leslie Stevens retitled it The Outer Limits. With a few changes, the pilot aired as the premiere episode, "The Galaxy Being".

Writers for The Outer Limits included creator Stevens and Joseph Stefano (screenwriter of Hitchcock's Psycho), who was the Season 1 producer and creative guiding force. Stefano wrote more episodes of the show than any other writer. Future Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown) wrote "The Chameleon", which was the final episode filmed for Season 1. Two especially notable Season 2 episodes "Demon with a Glass Hand" and "Soldier" were written by Harlan Ellison, with the former episode winning a Writers' Guild Award. The former was for several years the only episode of The Outer Limits available on LaserDisc.

Season 1 combined science fiction and horror, while Season 2 was more focused on 'hard science fiction' stories, dropping the recurring "scary monster" motif of Season 1. Each show in Season 1 was to have a monster or creature as a critical part of the story line. Season 1 writer and producer Joseph Stefano believed that this element was necessary to provide fear, suspense, or at least a center for plot development. This kind of story element became known as "the bear". This device was, however, mostly dropped in Season 2 when Stefano left (two Season 1 episodes without a "bear" are "The Forms of Things Unknown" and "Controlled Experiment", the first of which was shot in a dual format as science fiction for The Outer Limits and as a thriller for a pilot for an unmade series The Unknown. Actor Barry Morse, who starred in "Controlled Experiment", states that this episode also was made as a pilot for an unrealized science fiction/comedy series. It was the only comedic episode of The Outer Limits).

Earlier Season 1 episodes with no "bear" were "The Hundred Days of the Dragon" and "The Borderland" made before the "bear" convention was established. Season 2 episodes with a "bear" are "Keeper of the Purple Twilight", "The Duplicate Man", and "The Probe". "Bears" appear near the conclusion of the Season 2 episodes "Counterweight", "The Invisible Enemy", and "Cold Hands, Warm Heart".) The "bear" in "The Architects of Fear", the monstrously altered Allen Leighton, was judged by some of ABC's local affiliate stations to be so frightening that they broadcast a black screen during the "Thetan's" appearances, effectively censoring most of the show's last act. In other parts of the United States, the "Thetan" footage was tape-delayed until after the 11pm/10c news. In others, it was not shown at all.

The series was shot at KTTV (MetroMedia Square) on sound stage # 2. Season 1 had music by Dominic Frontiere, who doubled as Production Executive; Season 2 featured music by Harry Lubin, with a variation of his Fear theme for One Step Beyond being heard over the end titles.

Cinematography

The program sometimes made use of techniques (lighting, camerawork, even make-up) associated with film noir or German Expressionism (see for example, "Corpus Earthling"), and a number of episodes were noteworthy for their sheer eeriness. Credit for this is often given to the cinematographer Conrad Hall, who went on to win three Academy Awards (and many more nominations) for his work in motion pictures. However, Hall worked only on alternate episodes of this TV series during the first two-thirds of the first season. The program's other cinematographers included John M. Nickolaus and Kenneth Peach.

Special effects

The various monsters and creatures from the first season and most props were developed by a loose-knit group organized under the name Project Unlimited. Members of the group included Wah Chang, Gene Warren and Jim Danforth. Makeup was executed by Fred B. Phillips along with John Chambers.

Characters and models

Many of the creatures that appeared in Outer Limits episodes have been sold as models or action figures in the 1990s and 2000s. A variety in limited editions have been as model kits to be assembled and painted by the purchaser issued by Dimensional Designs, and a smaller set of out-of-the-box action figures sold in larger quantity by Sideshow Toys. The former produced a model kit of The Megasoid from "The Duplicate Man", and both created a figure of Gwyllm as an evolved man from "The Sixth Finger".

Reception and reputation

The series earned a very loyal audience in the first season. It was so devoted, some people were reported to take a TV set with them if they had to be away from home, so they would not miss an episode (as home video recording did not yet exist). However, the second season fared rather poorly in the Nielsen ratings after moving from Monday to Saturday night, going against Jackie Gleason. Producer Joseph Stefano chose to leave the show after the first year; he realized that competing against the more popular Gleason would kill his show (proven by its cancellation midway through the second season). However, the series retained a following for many years after its original broadcast. Many decades later, horror writer Stephen King called it "the best program of its type ever to run on network TV."

Originally scheduled to air on November 25, 1963, the episode "Nightmare" was delayed until December 2 due to television coverage of the state funeral of President John F. Kennedy.

Comparison to The Twilight Zone

Like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits had an opening and closing narration in almost every episode. Both shows were unusually philosophical for science fiction anthology series, but differed in style. The Twilight Zone stories were often like parables, employing whimsy (such as the Buster Keaton time-travel episode "Once Upon a Time"), irony, or extraordinary problem-solving situations (such as the episode "The Arrival"). The Outer Limits was usually a straight action-and-suspense show which often had the human spirit in confrontation with dark existential forces from within or without, such as in the alien abduction episode "A Feasibility Study" or the alien possession story "The Invisibles". As well, The Outer Limits was known for its moody, textured look in many episodes (especially those directed by Byron Haskin or Gerd Oswald, or photographed by Conrad Hall) whereas The Twilight Zone tended to be shot more conventionally.

However, there is some common ground between certain episodes of the two shows. As Schow and Frentzen, the authors of The Outer Limits: The Official Companion, have noted, several Outer Limits episodes are often misremembered by casual fans as having been Twilight Zone episodes, notably such "problem solving" episodes as "Fun and Games" or "The Premonition".

Legacy

Influence on Star Trek

A few of the monsters reappeared in Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek series later in the 1960s. The moving microbe beast in "The Probe" later was used as the 'Horta' in "The Devil in the Dark", and operated by the same actor, Janos Prohaska. The "ion storm" seen in "The Mutant" (a projector beam shining through a container containing glitter in liquid suspension) became the transporter effect in Star Trek. The black mask from "The Duplicate Man", is used by the character Dr. Leighton in "The Conscience of the King". The Megasoid, from "The Duplicate Man" and the Empyrean from "Second Chance" (1964) were seen briefly near Captain Christopher Pike in other cages in the Star Trek pilot "The Cage".

The process used to make pointed ears for David McCallum in "The Sixth Finger" was reused in Star Trek as well. Lead actors who would later appear in the regular cast of Star Trek included Leonard Nimoy, who appeared in two episodes ("Production and Decay of Strange Particles" and "I, Robot") and William Shatner who appeared (in the episode "Cold Hands, Warm Heart") as an astronaut working on a Project Vulcan. Actors who would subsequently appear in the regular supporting cast of Star Trek were Grace Lee Whitney (episode "Controlled Experiment") and James Doohan (episode "Expanding Human"). Roddenberry was often present in The Outer Limits' studios, and hired several of its staff, among them Robert Justman and Wah Chang for the production of Star Trek.

Lawsuit on behalf of Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison contended that inspiration for James Cameron's Terminator had come in part from Ellison's work on The Outer Limits. Cameron conceded the influence. Ellison was awarded money and an end-credits mention in The Terminator (1984), stating the creators' wish "to acknowledge the works of Harlan Ellison". Cameron was against Orion's decision and was told that if he did not agree with the settlement, they would have Cameron pay for any damages if Orion lost Ellison's suit. Cameron replied that he "had no choice but to agree with the settlement. There was a gag order as well."

Film adaptation projects

Filmmaker Kevin Smith has stated that, before offering him the chance to write Superman Lives in 1996, Warner Brothers offered him two projects: a remake of The Architects of Fear and Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. On June 20, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was developing a film version of The Outer Limits based on the "Demon with a Glass Hand" episode, with Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill writing and Mark Victor producing.



"I, Robot" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 14 November 1964, during the second season. It was remade under the same title in 1995. Leonard Nimoy appeared in both versions.

Opening narration

God looked upon his world and called it good, but Man was not content. He looked for ways to make it better and built machines to do the work. But in vain we build the world, unless the builder also grows.

Plot

Defence attorney Thurman Cutler is coaxed out of retirement to take the case for the defence of a robot, Adam Link, against the charge that it willfully murdered its creator Dr. Charles Link. Placed on trial, Adam sits alone in the courtroom, apart from his only friend Nina Link, the professor's niece. Testimony reveals that once Adam was activated he began a trial and error process of learning like that of a child. This suggests that some of his later acts, construed as violent, were in fact a matter of the mechanical man not understanding his own strength, or subtle or vague areas of human thought and emotions. Unfortunately the defence never fully recovers from the revelation that Adam read the novel Frankenstein while absorbing all the books in the Doc's library, and the judge pronounces the robot guilty, even though the Doc's death was accidental. Before Adam can be hauled away to be dismantled, he breaks free of his bonds outside the courthouse to throw a child aside from the path of an oncoming truck, but is smashed into scrap metal in the process. Cutler notes sardonically: "That terrible monster won't ever harm anybody again."

Closing narration

Out of every disaster, a little progress is made. Man will build more robots, and learn how to make them better. And, given enough time, he may learn how to do the same for himself.

Background

The Adam Link stories first appeared in Amazing Stories magazine between 1939 and 1942, written by Eando Binder, a pseudonym used jointly by brothers Earl and Otto Binder, (though only Otto wrote the Adam Link stories). Unusually for a robot at that time, Adam was a sympathetic character with genuine emotions, and the tales were narrated by Adam himself. "I Robot" first appeared in Amazing Stories Vol. 13/no. 1 (January 1939), and was continued in "The Trial of Adam Link, Robot" (Amazing Stories vol. 13/no. 7 (July 1939)). The original story ends with Adam intending to turn himself off, believing he will not be allowed a trial, and although innocent, writing his confession.

The Outer Limits episode is based on these first two stories. In this TV adaptation, writer Robert C. Dennis invented the character of attorney Thurman Cutler, greatly expanded the role of a nameless newspaperman, mentioned only in passing in Binder's original story, into Judson Ellis and changed Prof. Link's relative to a woman. The ending was also changed so that Adam is found guilty, ending up as scrap metal when saving a child from being hit by a truck outside the courthouse; in the original "Trial" story, he is vindicated and set free.

Unlike his TV counterpart, the original Adam Link was a six-foot-tall android. In the following four stories ("Adam Link in Business", Vol. 14/no. 1, Jan 1940; "Adam Link's Vengeance", Vol. 14/no. 2,Feb 1940; "Adam Link, Robot Detective", Vol. 14/no. 5, May 1940; and "Adam Link, Champion Athlete", Vol.14/no. 7, Jul 1940) he amasses a fortune as a business consultant, enough to fund a rejuvenation of slum areas and build a "female" robot named Eve to be his wife, is betrayed by a friend who uses him to rob banks, becomes a private detective to find the person who framed Eve for 3 murders and performs a series of athletic challenges. The later stories, ("Adam Link fights a War", Vol.14/no. 12, Dec 1940; "Adam Link in the Past", Vol.15.no. 2,Feb 1941; "Adam Link Faces A Revolt", Vol. 15/no. 5, May 1941; and "Adam Link Saves The World", Vol.16/no.4,Apr 1942) were more outlandish SF adventure tales with Adam and Eve fighting evil robots and aliens in defense of the human race. All 10 stories were adapted by Otto Binder into a 174-page novel Adam Link: Robot, and first published in the US by Paperback Library in 1965.

"I, Robot" first appeared in color comic strip form in 1954 in EC Comics Weird Science-Fantasy #27, followed by "The Trial of Adam Link" in #28 and "Adam Link in Business" in #29, all adapted by Albert Feldstein, with art by Joe Orlando. Later an irregular series of black and white Adam Link comic strips, written by Otto Binder and drawn by Joe Orlando, were published in Warren Magazines' Creepy between 1965 and 1967 ("I, Robot", #2 Apr 1965; "The Trial Of Adam Link!", #4 Aug 1965; "Adam Link in Business", #6 Dec 1965; "Adam Link's Mate!", #8 Apr 1966; "Adam Link's Vengeance!", #9 Jun 1966; "Adam Link, Robot Detective!", #12 Dec 1966; 'Adam Link Gangster!", #13 Feb 1967; "Adam Link, Champion Athlete", #15 Aug 1967).

Cast

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