"The Outer Limits" (1963) TV series 1963-1965

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

16 September 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

There is nothing wrong with your television. Do not attempt to adjust the picture.

Plot:

Anthology type science fiction program with a different cast each week. Tending toward the hard science...

Plot Keywords:

Anthology | Cult Favorite | Psychotronic | Alien | Supernatural

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Vic Perrin	...	Control Voice / ... (28 episodes, 1963-1965)
Bob Johnson	...	Anthean / ... (11 episodes, 1963-1964)

Also Known As:

Beyond Control (USA) (working title)
Please Stand By (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

51 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | USA:TV-PG | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Villa Di Stefano

Trivia:

An example of a television network deliberately killing a popular series by moving it to an inappropriate slot on their schedule. This series was a big hit, especially among younger viewers. For the second season, ABC moved it from Monday nights to 7:30 Saturday. It was not only an inappropriate timeslot for younger viewers, it served as the lead-in for "The Lawrence Welk Show" (1955) and was scheduled opposite the highly popular "Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine" (1962) on CBS. The series was pulled halfway into the second season.

Quotes:

Andro: Better to die than to sit and watch the world die.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Monster A-Go-Go (#5.21)" (1993)

Alas the plight of a unicorn

Let me take you back. Let me pull you there. A male human child of 6 cycles. It is 1963. Dad was cool and suggested we watch this new 'weirdo' show. We did that sort of thing together - bonding, don't you know? From the very first second the show was unlike anything I had ever seen before. 'The Twilight Zone' tried this with mixed results. But this set up? We just lost control of our TV sets and 'they' were going to show us something - 'awe and mystery'. I'm all for that. Yet this was different. The visuals combined with the truly subversively semi-subliminal (I hope) sound effects - very compelling. It pulled you right in, teased and hypnotized. Then that gut wrenching music slowly wanders in and disorients. Hurry up commercial! Get over! (Commercials were somewhat shorter back then as I recall)

I believe the first episode, which I haven't seen in years, started right from the sine-wave intro. I also recall it as being a bit longer with the first episode. I could be wrong. These were on TV and - you know - TV takes liberties. Later episodes started right in in the action to tease you for what's to come. Then - crescendo of surprise, awe and mystery - the 'sine-wave- intro. This technique later adopted by such peers as 'The X-files'.

Folks! The original Outer Limits intro was fun! It was almost art. I like the 'new' Outer Limits on occasion - but that intro of theirs? I can't wait til it's over.

Then we have those stories. A child of 6 expects monsters to be monsters. Many of these monsters - each horrific in a surprisingly memorable way - turned out to be well-meaning or benign. That will certainly screw with the perceptive 6 year old mind. So, the monster under my bed might not be a monster at all? Wow!

Yes, those stories assisted by the most symbiotic music I had heard at the time. Those dirges piped in at just the right moment, working the mood into a niche, and making the plot point. You know, we, the audience, were being seduced by the notes to 'listen up! You might learn something'. The second season unfortunately lost these tunes and were replaced by this wavering 1950-ish B-movie ilk. I shouldn't bash it. It wasn't bad - it just wasn't the Frontiere-groove anymore, man.

I could adorn each episode with praises. Even a bad one was better for me than anything else on TV then. If they were on today I would still watch a bad episode. They still made you consider your place in the Universe. Sometimes they even scared the crap out of you. But the good episodes were gems! Those creatures were fantastic. At the time the station edited 'Architects Of Fear' so we never got to see the creature since it was deemed too scary. The story still held together even without the extra boost a fearsome face would provide. Many years later I finally saw what the creature looked like. I can see why the stations did what they did for that innocent era. I probably would have screamed myself to sleep. 'Zanti Misfits' had me doing that anyway. The 'Bellero Shield' had me upset for years. I think I actually understood the ending at 6 years old.

So, I am not going to keep listing episodes. You know who you are. I like them all and will be owning them in my library.

Bottomline, folks! If you haven't seen any of these - DO! Unfortunately short-lived these early episodes are a one-of-a-kind example of good TV. Rare and perhaps extinct. A series that didn't underestimate its audience.