Last night I refamiliarized myself with another "OL" episode that I had not seen in a good number of years: "O.B.I.T." In this one, as you may recall, a government research installation is being investigated by a Congressman (Peter Breck, who starred that same year in Sam Fuller's cult movie "Shock Corridor") after the murder of one of its workers. It turns out that morale in the facility is at an all-time low, following the introduction of the O.B.I.T. (Outer Band Individuated Teletracer) device of the title, which allows for intrusive surveillance of everyone in the compound. Ultimately, the facility's director (character actor Harry Townes), who had been declared insane after claiming that he saw a "monster" in the device's screen, is brought in to testify, leading to the revelation that his replacement, Lomax (Jeff Corey), is nothing less than an alien, from a race that has planted O.B.I.T. devices all over the world to sap Earthlings' morale and make them ripe for an eventual conquest. It is a talky and stagy episode, wall-bound but never dull, with reams of fascinating dialogue and a script that has much to say about governmental snooping...a subject that is, of course, as timely as ever. Director Gerd Oswald utilizes extreme close-up shots (especially of Corey) to engender an off-kilter atmosphere; the look of the episode, in a word, is striking. Probably not anyone's idea of a Top 10 "OL" episode, but still, an intelligent and well-crafted affair, much better than I had remembered, with fine performances across the board and a message that still resonates.
21 Reviews
Close to home!!!
Sleepin_Dragon19 March 2023
Senator Orville arrives at a Military base, to investigate the murder of an operator of The OBIT device, Aka the Outer Band Individuated Teletracer, a device with remarkable capabilities.
Very different, very good, it's yet another very successful, original early episode. It's a good mix of science fiction and horror, and although it was set in the present (as was) day, it has a very futuristic vibe. It's very imaginative, and does a great job of throwing the political ramifications into the story.
It definitely has an odd vibe, the courtroom like setup was very strange, but allowed for some intense scenes. Once again I'll applaud the production team, for making great use of the limited special effects technologies that were available at the time.
Made way back in 1962, some of the themes explored and imagined here must have seemed so out of reach, so far beyond, skip forward sixty years, and they weren't too far off with some of their progressive ideas, some things truly haven't changed for the better.
It's put me in mind somewhat of a Dr Who episode that would come some years later, The War Machines, where powerful computer WOTAN was set to take over.
Very good, once again, 8/10.
Very different, very good, it's yet another very successful, original early episode. It's a good mix of science fiction and horror, and although it was set in the present (as was) day, it has a very futuristic vibe. It's very imaginative, and does a great job of throwing the political ramifications into the story.
It definitely has an odd vibe, the courtroom like setup was very strange, but allowed for some intense scenes. Once again I'll applaud the production team, for making great use of the limited special effects technologies that were available at the time.
Made way back in 1962, some of the themes explored and imagined here must have seemed so out of reach, so far beyond, skip forward sixty years, and they weren't too far off with some of their progressive ideas, some things truly haven't changed for the better.
It's put me in mind somewhat of a Dr Who episode that would come some years later, The War Machines, where powerful computer WOTAN was set to take over.
Very good, once again, 8/10.
The Outer Limits--O.B.I.T.
Scarecrow-886 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Imagine an alien race who would use a "peeping tom" machine known as O.B.I.T.(Outer Band Individuated Teletracer) in order to have us fall prey to our own addictive desires to spy on each other until no one can ever hold a secret or say something in private that will not be seen by strangers, trust and friendship, love and relationships dwindling and deteriorating until the world is like Cypress Hills, an organization funded by the defense department who thought it'd be wise to have a device they could use to intrude upon any possible threat to the country. We soon learn, too, through the demands of a senator, Orville(Peter Breck), whose investigation will yield startling truths about this dangerous spying machine, that there are many more OBITs out there, businesses, schools, and other entities also using them to keep tabs on others. Cypress Hills, thanks to Byron Lomax(Jeff Corey)who is an alien masquerading as a human, was once a thriving community of intellectuals and their families who participated in activities and functions with each other until the OBITs were approved by the defense department. Hills was just an example of what could happen if these machines continued to exist, and were not gathered up and destroyed. That's what the alien race were hoping to achieve--to take over Planet Earth once we destroyed ourselves through human weakness and mistrust. Once the head over Hills, Dr. Clifford Scott(Harry Townes) had been "sent away" due to a "physical breakdown" when he saw Lomax in his true form, a monster on the OBIT after breaking the rules set up by the machine, he was able to remove a filter that kept the alien from being spied on. Orville, once he's able to convince Colonel Grover(Alan Baxter)that it's best to be open and honest about the OBIT machines, might just be able to thwart the aliens' plan to have us implode through our own moral negligence. Intriguing, if a bit talky(in a courtroom kind of way), episode of THE OUTER LIMITS has a storyline that certainly predates "Big Brother" and the internet/media age we now live and was perhaps before its time in regards to content. It's become difficult to hold secrets anymore and the idea of an OBIT machine out there watching, listening, and keeping close proximity of our every move isn't so bogus or ill-conceived, with satellites in space that can zero in on our homes as we are mowing our yards. Corey presents quite an intimidating presence as Lomax, the way he looks on from a short distance, himself holding secrets detrimental to the fate of mankind if the alien he truly is can be successful. It takes a man of integrity and courage like Orville, unafraid of his political capital if he were to bust open the defense security of the United States in order to unearth the OBIT program currently running rampant, to challenge the great alien threat. Again, I reiterate, O.B.I.T. is one of those episodes where Orville questions and interrogates numerous people associated with the murder of an OBIT operator--this murderous act is, interesting enough, the incident that undermines what the aliens had set out to accomplish, because Orville becomes involved due to his investigation into the death of an employee who operated an OBIT machine--and isn't an "action-motivated" spookshow. It has relevance and is far important a story now than even when it first appeared in 1963.
Minding Your Business
a_l_i_e_n14 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
An unusual episode, the initialized title refers to the Outer Band Individuated Teletracer, a top secret device developed at a government think tank that allows a viewer to invade the privacy of others no matter where they might be. When one of the machine's operators is found slumped over the control panel with his neck crushed, a U.S. senator (Peter Breck) arrives to conduct an investigation into the murder. After the testimony of a succession of witnesses, it becomes clear that a pervasive sense of paranoia exists among the staff of the facility and all centering around the use of O.B.I.T.
Even more mysterious, while using it to spy on his wife, a scientist reports seeing a one-eyed monster suddenly appear on the O.B.I.T. screen.
As it turns out, O.B.I.T. is actually a product of alien technology. Rather than the usual invasion with ray guns and such, the aliens' plan is to undermine society by granting us through O.B.I.T. the ability to eavesdrop on each other, and then watch as we drive ourselves insane with suspicions and jealousies fueled by the addictive use of the device. As Mr. Lomax, (played by Jeff Corey) the alien behind the scheme later explains, "...when we come here to live, you friendless, demoralized creatures will fall before us without a single shot being fired."
Much of the story takes place in a single room as a series of witnesses file in to provide testimony, giving "O.B.I.T." the feel of a "Perry Mason" episode- but one with a science fiction/horror angle attached to it. Now that's unique.
The cinematography keeps all the testimony scenes visually interesting with fluid camera movements and eye-catching light patterns reflected in the background. Mr. Lomax's thick coke bottle glasses in particular are shot at increasingly closer angles to emphasize his sinister presence before his true form is revealed as a cycloptic alien with large three-fingered hands.
If there's one obvious flaw to the script it's that Lomax is revealed as the alien in the first act, making his big unmasking scene at the end less stunning than it might have been. The story could probably have also used at least one more murder, and though Peter Breck tries to be both commanding and mercurial as the crusading Senator Orville, his performance is a little overstated. In fact, at times he comes off as kind of patronizing, and one can't help but wonder what frequent "Outer Limits" guest star Robert Culp might have done with this role.
Despite it's shortcomings though, this is an interesting story that more than 40 years later poses some still very relevant questions about where exactly our need to know everyone else's business ends, and where do the more primitive needs of hostile paranoia take over?
Even more mysterious, while using it to spy on his wife, a scientist reports seeing a one-eyed monster suddenly appear on the O.B.I.T. screen.
As it turns out, O.B.I.T. is actually a product of alien technology. Rather than the usual invasion with ray guns and such, the aliens' plan is to undermine society by granting us through O.B.I.T. the ability to eavesdrop on each other, and then watch as we drive ourselves insane with suspicions and jealousies fueled by the addictive use of the device. As Mr. Lomax, (played by Jeff Corey) the alien behind the scheme later explains, "...when we come here to live, you friendless, demoralized creatures will fall before us without a single shot being fired."
Much of the story takes place in a single room as a series of witnesses file in to provide testimony, giving "O.B.I.T." the feel of a "Perry Mason" episode- but one with a science fiction/horror angle attached to it. Now that's unique.
The cinematography keeps all the testimony scenes visually interesting with fluid camera movements and eye-catching light patterns reflected in the background. Mr. Lomax's thick coke bottle glasses in particular are shot at increasingly closer angles to emphasize his sinister presence before his true form is revealed as a cycloptic alien with large three-fingered hands.
If there's one obvious flaw to the script it's that Lomax is revealed as the alien in the first act, making his big unmasking scene at the end less stunning than it might have been. The story could probably have also used at least one more murder, and though Peter Breck tries to be both commanding and mercurial as the crusading Senator Orville, his performance is a little overstated. In fact, at times he comes off as kind of patronizing, and one can't help but wonder what frequent "Outer Limits" guest star Robert Culp might have done with this role.
Despite it's shortcomings though, this is an interesting story that more than 40 years later poses some still very relevant questions about where exactly our need to know everyone else's business ends, and where do the more primitive needs of hostile paranoia take over?
Big Brother is watching!
sol-kay19 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Updated version of George Orwell's 1984, which was published in 1949, that takes place in 1963. The story is about the development of this O.B.I.T, Outer Ban Individuated Teletracer, computer that not only sees and hears what people say but thinks as well! This monstrosity was developed by a hairy handed bug eyed looking Dr.Byron Lomax who somehow got the US Government to mass produce it in the false idea if would be vital to its national security. What in fact this thing does is turn everyone involved with it into a mental case by taking away what privacy that they still have!
It's when Capt. Harrison was murdered while working on the O.B.I.T computer the US Government began to wonder what exactly this machine had to do with his sudden demise. The US Congress sends Senator Orivlle to the ultra secret Cypress Hill military base to investigate it as well as see what was behind Capt.Harrison's murder! To Senetor Orville's shock and surprise the main witness in his investigation Dr. Clifford Scott was not available to be interviewed! Dr. Scott had suffered a mental breakdown and was now locked in a US military safe house, or sanitarium, for his own good!
As Senator Orville begins to dig deeper into what exactly this O.B.I.T computer is really all about a number of those whom he's to interview about it either calmed up or ended up murdered or missing! It's only later when Col. Grover who was part of this cover up and who went as far as threatened senator Orville, in destroying his political career if he didn't stop his investigation, finally broke down and told the truth about O.B.I.T! A truth so shocking that even with it now being made public may not be enough to save the human race from what O.B.I.T and those behind it are planning for it!
Way ahead of its time the "Outer Limits" episode "O.B.I.T" predicts what was to happen some 30 o 40 years later with how far the US Government, or most modernized and high tech governments for that matter, would go to protect itself by infringing on the rights of its people that it, its elected representatives, were sworn to uphold protect and defend! Not for reasons of national security but the security of those in power, both elected or appointed, who's ideas of national security are not those of the vast majority of the American people!
It's when Capt. Harrison was murdered while working on the O.B.I.T computer the US Government began to wonder what exactly this machine had to do with his sudden demise. The US Congress sends Senator Orivlle to the ultra secret Cypress Hill military base to investigate it as well as see what was behind Capt.Harrison's murder! To Senetor Orville's shock and surprise the main witness in his investigation Dr. Clifford Scott was not available to be interviewed! Dr. Scott had suffered a mental breakdown and was now locked in a US military safe house, or sanitarium, for his own good!
As Senator Orville begins to dig deeper into what exactly this O.B.I.T computer is really all about a number of those whom he's to interview about it either calmed up or ended up murdered or missing! It's only later when Col. Grover who was part of this cover up and who went as far as threatened senator Orville, in destroying his political career if he didn't stop his investigation, finally broke down and told the truth about O.B.I.T! A truth so shocking that even with it now being made public may not be enough to save the human race from what O.B.I.T and those behind it are planning for it!
Way ahead of its time the "Outer Limits" episode "O.B.I.T" predicts what was to happen some 30 o 40 years later with how far the US Government, or most modernized and high tech governments for that matter, would go to protect itself by infringing on the rights of its people that it, its elected representatives, were sworn to uphold protect and defend! Not for reasons of national security but the security of those in power, both elected or appointed, who's ideas of national security are not those of the vast majority of the American people!
O.B.I.T. Is Happening Today
radiotesla200129 December 2012
Warning: Spoilers
One of the best hours of Science Fiction ever produced. The Outer Band Individuated Teletracer can spy on anyone, anywhere, and as the product of an alien race, it is introduced into our society as a weapon to totally demoralize us through our own relentless curiosity to discover the secrets of everyone we know.
Decades ahead of its time, it has sagely predicted the situation we find ourselves in today. We obsessively dig for every secret. There is NO potential politician or world leader that can escape without every single scrap of his or her history being blasted in front of every living person on the planet. The episode's prediction that we will tear ourselves apart through this obsession is evident today.
Some have said that this is evidenced by the United State's Patriot Act, but the damage we are doing to our society does not start or end there. We willingly plaster our entire lives on Facebook and other 'Social Networking' sites. Employers regularly scour these sites to discover whether or not we are stable and reliable enough for employment. Teenagers terrorize other teenagers with the knowledge gained therein. How many marriages have been destroyed by the information gleaned on the internet? Television reporters no longer report events. They pry for the dirtiest details available, and then serve them up for the entertainment of the masses, and the destruction of the subjects involved. 'Reality' shows are another vehicle that accomplishes this voyeuristic addiction, and electronic cameras capture all transgressions.
O.B.I.T. predicts ALL of this, and asks the question, can a society possibly survive that lays bare every single secret? You should also read a short story written by Issac Asimov, titled 'The Dead Past' which deals with the same subject, and arrives at basically the same ending.
This is great stuff, and we would do well to ponder the questions of where all of this 'openess' is leading us.
Decades ahead of its time, it has sagely predicted the situation we find ourselves in today. We obsessively dig for every secret. There is NO potential politician or world leader that can escape without every single scrap of his or her history being blasted in front of every living person on the planet. The episode's prediction that we will tear ourselves apart through this obsession is evident today.
Some have said that this is evidenced by the United State's Patriot Act, but the damage we are doing to our society does not start or end there. We willingly plaster our entire lives on Facebook and other 'Social Networking' sites. Employers regularly scour these sites to discover whether or not we are stable and reliable enough for employment. Teenagers terrorize other teenagers with the knowledge gained therein. How many marriages have been destroyed by the information gleaned on the internet? Television reporters no longer report events. They pry for the dirtiest details available, and then serve them up for the entertainment of the masses, and the destruction of the subjects involved. 'Reality' shows are another vehicle that accomplishes this voyeuristic addiction, and electronic cameras capture all transgressions.
O.B.I.T. predicts ALL of this, and asks the question, can a society possibly survive that lays bare every single secret? You should also read a short story written by Issac Asimov, titled 'The Dead Past' which deals with the same subject, and arrives at basically the same ending.
This is great stuff, and we would do well to ponder the questions of where all of this 'openess' is leading us.
The "Big Brother" Machine
claudio_carvalho19 February 2018
While operating the Outer Band Individuated Teletracer, or O.B.I.T.machine, in a military base, Captain Harris is strangled. U.S. Senator Peter Breck arrives at the base to investigate his murder and learns that there are several bases with the O.B.I.T.machine, which is capable to monitor in a video display the privacy of any person anywhere. Along his investigation, Senator Breck asks for information about the OBIT, such as who is the manufacturer, price, who bought, but no user has any information about the mysterious machine.
"O.B.I.T." is a boring episode based on a machine inspired on the dystopian novel by George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), published in 1949. The idea of an omnipresent government surveillance of people is scary; but this episode shows aliens monitoring the Earthling population without any control of government, which is scarier. But the narrative of a court room drama is tiresome and waste an interesting storyline. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "O.B.I.T."
"O.B.I.T." is a boring episode based on a machine inspired on the dystopian novel by George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), published in 1949. The idea of an omnipresent government surveillance of people is scary; but this episode shows aliens monitoring the Earthling population without any control of government, which is scarier. But the narrative of a court room drama is tiresome and waste an interesting storyline. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "O.B.I.T."
Disturbing and ahead of its time!
cewilsonjr3 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This episode could all too easily have become a standard liberal morality play about the evils of Cold War paranoia, but fortunately it avoids getting caught in that rut (though some will try to force the template onto it anyway). The danger facing us in the episode is not a clique of militarists and establishment scientists taking away our freedoms by hiding behind national security. It is a case of the real enemy being ourselves and what we all are inside, with aliens poised to take advantage of this weakness. The episode is pertinent to today not in regards to clichés about wiretapping of suspected terrorists, but as a prophecy of how we have become a paparazzi society that is obsessed with knowing all the private details of both celebrities and our neighbors. The really chilling part of the episode is when it is revealed that the individuals (whether military men or scientists) who have used the OBIT device to spy on others have done so not to create a dictatorship, but to satisfy personal curiosity and feed a growing addiction of wanting to watch the lives of others. In our case, the corrosive acid that threatens to dissolve society is not the White House or the Pentagon, but the supermarket gossip papers, confess-all talk shows (and the expectation that we are supposed to blab to each other about our souls and privates lives), personal monitoring devices, "reality" TV shows, and ravenous 24/7 news organizations which demand to know and report all. And we as a group enable all of this. People, whether celebrities or the average man, have much more to fear from a chance remark or action being spread like wildfire on the internet, on the news, or in the neighborhood and being used against them, than they do from being wiretapped by a national security agency. The growing hostility of celebrities against the paparazzi is just the tip of the iceberg of the fear and paranoia that can result from this desire to know all. Since it is part of our nature to want to know what is going on around us, we will never entirely put an end to delving into the lives of others. But a reasonable goal would be to balance the needs of our inquisitive nature with our need for privacy.
A great story in a very dialogue driven episode.
b_kite31 March 2022
When a government administrator is mysteriously murdered at a research facility a U. S. senator played by Richard Breck discovers an unusual security device that is used to monitor its employees called The Outer Band Individuated Teletracer (O. B. I. T.) a device so invasive that it follows everyone's actions and is also labeled addictive by its users. A trial is held where a missing administrator is found, and soon the sinister and unearthly purposes of the device become apparent. This is a really good story that like another fellow reviewer stated probably isn't far from happening, there not run by aliens, but there also not any less invasive. The only reason this isn't rated higher is its very dialogue driven through its entire runtime and at times is rather slow, the final is great though.
I am officially creeped out now!
carsal75 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is fifty years ahead of its time. I selected this episode because it was starring Peter Breck, and what did I get? A story that mirrors what is happening today (2021). All you need to do is substitute the creature behind the machine with todays: NSA, various intelligence departments, Mark Zuckerberg, Alexa or Siri, etc. Etc. To say this episode is similar to Orwell's "1984", is to put it mildly. Today's blatant spying on the common person for their personal information, desires, and hidden feelings is totally what this episode purveys. Be prepared to be shocked.
There's Too Many People Who Would Like Things This Way!
Hitchcoc3 January 2015
The sad thing about this circa 1962 episode is that there are things in place these days that aren't much less invasive. Granted, aliens aren't running them, but equally dangerous people are. In this episode, a U. S. Senator is investigating a murder and the reasons behind an incredible number of depression cases, suicides, and other morale related issues. He gets stonewalled all along the way. The murdered man, who spends his days watching people and recording every bit of communications and activity in their lives, is just the tip of the iceberg. People are being sent to mental institutions and their privacy invaded on a daily basis. It turns out that there is an amorphous white figure that is in contact with him. He is viewed in a circular monitor and seems to be in charge. Apparently, if one becomes contrary, they will pay the price. Most of the activity takes place in an ersatz courtroom. The proceedings are top secret. This shows the original Outer Limits starting to gain some legs. This is certainly one of the better episodes.
Like watching paint dry...
twingle9321 March 2013
Except for two scenes of aliens murdering people, this episode would be a boring court room drama. All we get is people talking for an hour about something that could be summed up in one sentence: "There is a device that lets you see what other people are doing, and aliens built it. They want to destroy us with paranoia." There, done! We didn't need to hear different testimonies on that fact. Except for the very end, where you have the alien's true appearance on the screen combined with his human appearance, and the two aforementioned scenes of aliens murdering people, this is episode is probably the most boring thing ever put on screen; certainly one of dullest things I've seen in my life.
Before Big Brother....
StuOz26 June 2014
Big Brother type-hardware is used on people to track all movements.
For decades I hated this episode as it seemed like a dull court room drama, too removed from the usual Outer Limits stuff.
However, a recent viewing went over a lot better as we seem to be living in the age of O.B.I.T today and the hour nicely fits into the 21st century. The direction and make-up work is also of a high standard.
Invasion of privacy is an issue that should hold interest to all viewers...so the episode is now timeless...even if you are not a regular viewer of this series.
For decades I hated this episode as it seemed like a dull court room drama, too removed from the usual Outer Limits stuff.
However, a recent viewing went over a lot better as we seem to be living in the age of O.B.I.T today and the hour nicely fits into the 21st century. The direction and make-up work is also of a high standard.
Invasion of privacy is an issue that should hold interest to all viewers...so the episode is now timeless...even if you are not a regular viewer of this series.
A bit too claustrophobic, but a neat idea.
planktonrules25 June 2012
This episode takes place mostly in a hearing room at a secret government installation where the OBIT machine was created. It seems that an investigator has been sent there but he keeps getting stonewalled when he tries to talk to the man in charge. Eventually, he is able to see this 'sick man'--but learns he isn't sick at all but afraid. You see, OBIT is an amazing spy machine that can be used to track anyone anywhere--and he's afraid of the repercussions. Plus, the machine is addictive and has ruined his life. What exactly is OBIT? How did they create it? And, most importantly, who is behind all this? OBIT is not a great episode until late in the show. Because of this, I have to strongly admonish you to stick with this one--there is an amazingly good payoff at the end. But, until then, expect a rather claustrophobic episode that is mostly played out in one dull room. A sleeper!
Secret Eye
AaronCapenBanner10 March 2016
Peter Breck stars as a U.S. Senator who has been sent to a top secret military base to investigate the murder of a Captain Harris, who was strangled at his station on the O.B.I.T. machine, which stands for outer band individuated teletracer, a new invention that can monitor anyones feelings and thoughts anywhere to be viewed on an eye-shaped television, which has had the effect of destroying morale in various ways, as privacy is becoming a thing of the past, which may not be an accident, as there are many such obit machines in existence... Prescient episode with intelligent writing and a chilling premise. Perhaps a bit too talky and stagy, but otherwise first-rate.
One of the best from one of the best television series ever
sheenarocks18 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
As a child watching this episode, the lack of a real monster made it one of the least interesting. However, in light of the Bush/Cheney NSA wiretapping and who knows what other invasions of privacy, this episode of Outer Limits becomes incredibly relevant to today's news headlines.
OBIT has the capacity to spy on anyone, anywhere, anytime. As one of the individuals points out, he could not help himself spying on his neighbors and friends; it was an addiction. This is the real theme of this episode--the absolute power corrupts absolutely. Any technology will be used without our vigilance.
****SPOILER******
Of course, as Outer Limits had to have a monster in each episode, it turned out that the evil behind OBIT was not a corrupt politician as we have today touting the NSA wiretapping but an ALIEN, once again using our fears against us. This is actually rather a let-down of an ending in a way: We were shown who the alien was at the beginning. The real horror is the idea of these OBIT machines moving into everyday life, as was taking place in this episode; it was mentioned that not only was the government using OBIT but businesses and other entities also. A frightening denouement, truly giving one shivers down the back.
Gerd Oswald, the director, does a wonderful job with this episode, as he did with many others, with his odd camera angles and strange entrances and exits by characters from the scenes, as well as Conrad Hall with his amazingly spooky cinematography which seems to have been digitally remastered on the DVD I have reviewed.
An incredible and underrated episode of one of the best TV shows ever.
OBIT has the capacity to spy on anyone, anywhere, anytime. As one of the individuals points out, he could not help himself spying on his neighbors and friends; it was an addiction. This is the real theme of this episode--the absolute power corrupts absolutely. Any technology will be used without our vigilance.
****SPOILER******
Of course, as Outer Limits had to have a monster in each episode, it turned out that the evil behind OBIT was not a corrupt politician as we have today touting the NSA wiretapping but an ALIEN, once again using our fears against us. This is actually rather a let-down of an ending in a way: We were shown who the alien was at the beginning. The real horror is the idea of these OBIT machines moving into everyday life, as was taking place in this episode; it was mentioned that not only was the government using OBIT but businesses and other entities also. A frightening denouement, truly giving one shivers down the back.
Gerd Oswald, the director, does a wonderful job with this episode, as he did with many others, with his odd camera angles and strange entrances and exits by characters from the scenes, as well as Conrad Hall with his amazingly spooky cinematography which seems to have been digitally remastered on the DVD I have reviewed.
An incredible and underrated episode of one of the best TV shows ever.
"It's like a debilitating disease."
classicsoncall21 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was prescient in a way it could never have imagined back in the Sixties. Imagine a future technology that could track your whereabouts, know what your interests are, make suggestions for future activities, and suddenly your talking about an information gathering mechanism available to the largest of tech companies to follow you virtually anywhere, as long as you have a computer, laptop or cellphone. It would sound a lot like an 'Outer Band Individuated Teletracer', and quite suddenly, that's where we find ourselves today. It might not be controlled by aliens, but considering the alternative, I'm not sure we're much better off. Back when this story first aired, one could point to a specific geopolitical enemy as the one that would invade our privacy with a 'peeping-tom' machine. The alien disguised as Byron Lomax (Jeff Corey) made an oblique reference to conquering this country without firing a shot, which is what Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev intimated in 1956 when he addressed a group of Western diplomats and boasted, 'we will bury you'. What really brought the story home to our present day way of life was when Colonel Grover (Alan Baxter) stated that he used the OBIT for his own personal use, and quite frankly admitted that when it came to spying on people he knew, he 'can't not look'. Now what does that sound like?
O.B.I.T.
Prismark1025 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
A precursor to the surveillance society with the increasing use of computers.
Senator Orville (Peter Breck) looks into the murder of an army captain at a government research facility.
Staff morale has become increasingly strained in a toxic work environment. Dr Clifford Scott (Harry Townes) the head of the facility had a breakdown and Orville wants to trace his whereabouts.
When Dr Scott is located he tells about O. B. I. T. that stands for Outer Band Individuated Teletracer. A computer that can spy on anyone anywhere. Scott became obsessed with the computer screen as he watched her having an affair with an unknown person.
The army captain was murdered as he had seen a monster on the screen and Scott was afraid he might be next.
The story is framed in a courtroom scenario. Mrs Scott has been close with Byron Lomax, an operator of O. B. I. T. who acts rather creepily. Just why could Dr Scott could not make out his figure is a puzzle.
The courtroom scenes were dull, Lomax's reveal as the alien monster was weird. The aliens would use technology as a prelude for invasion. Technology eventually bringing down the human race was intriguing.
Senator Orville (Peter Breck) looks into the murder of an army captain at a government research facility.
Staff morale has become increasingly strained in a toxic work environment. Dr Clifford Scott (Harry Townes) the head of the facility had a breakdown and Orville wants to trace his whereabouts.
When Dr Scott is located he tells about O. B. I. T. that stands for Outer Band Individuated Teletracer. A computer that can spy on anyone anywhere. Scott became obsessed with the computer screen as he watched her having an affair with an unknown person.
The army captain was murdered as he had seen a monster on the screen and Scott was afraid he might be next.
The story is framed in a courtroom scenario. Mrs Scott has been close with Byron Lomax, an operator of O. B. I. T. who acts rather creepily. Just why could Dr Scott could not make out his figure is a puzzle.
The courtroom scenes were dull, Lomax's reveal as the alien monster was weird. The aliens would use technology as a prelude for invasion. Technology eventually bringing down the human race was intriguing.
Good episode but....
ewaf5819 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
If anyone is familiar with the Isaac Asimov short story - The Dead Past - they'll realise that the basic concept - a machine that can spy on someone has been explored before.
In the Dead past a machine called the Chronoscope is used to look into the past for historical research.
But when a smaller version is created that could be used by many at home - the autocratic Government tries to stop it.
The reason? Well when does the past begin 200 years ago - 1 week ago - or just one microsecond ago?
In other words if the machine goes mainstream it could be used by everyone to spy on each other in real-time which could sow discontent - just like the machine in O. B. I. T.
Whether the writer of this episode had read the Asimov story - we'll probably never know but its themes of intimate surveillance are strikingly similar.
In the Dead past a machine called the Chronoscope is used to look into the past for historical research.
But when a smaller version is created that could be used by many at home - the autocratic Government tries to stop it.
The reason? Well when does the past begin 200 years ago - 1 week ago - or just one microsecond ago?
In other words if the machine goes mainstream it could be used by everyone to spy on each other in real-time which could sow discontent - just like the machine in O. B. I. T.
Whether the writer of this episode had read the Asimov story - we'll probably never know but its themes of intimate surveillance are strikingly similar.
Great Conspiracy Episode
jhlloyd-3561810 November 2023
This has it all: Alien Technology used by the government, government cover-up, Aliens manipulating government leaders, and Big Brother, just to mention a few. Yes, it is slow moving, but it is trying to capture the feel of how a senatorial investigation uncovers the truth about what is going on at an important government complex. It is what the original Outer Limits was all about and what made it good. It's "bear" of the week was effective, even though the special effects are limited to what was available in the 60s. It presents the story from the standpoint that the truth is finally being revealed for the first time to the public who is left to wonder if such things are really going on in our nation.
Peter Sellers and David Bowie, united on the small screen.
fedor821 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The man conducting surveillance on the spying machine, OBIT, gets killed by a man - whom OBIT identified as a monster - and just a minute later they show us Peter Sellers. I instantly knew he must be the killer because he has GUILT written all over his goofy face, and besides, old TV series like these tend to show us the murderer and with pomp, immediately after the murder is committed.
Not that guessing the killer correctly was of any significance, because just a minute later the script anyway reveals him as the murderer. He then approaches David Bowie, or at least his sister.
It's amazing how this low-budget TV show managed to unite two such huge names, Sellers and Bowie, in several scenes. Needless to say, this actress looks abysmal. No woman should be burdened and punished with a Bowie face.
It is unfortunate that we are immediately told what the machine does and especially who the killer is, which may be the ideal set-up for slow-witted, lazy TOListas but for me this is way too much information, way too soon. They could have waited a bit before telling us what OBIT does, and certainly the killer's identity could have been handled with more uncertainty.
In other words, the only thing left for us is to wait patiently, like idiots, until the killer is identified, which is generally pointless and boring (though this episode is an exception), and the only question to be answered is whether the killer was always a monster or became one. Turns out he is an alien.
Besides, I can't stand court-room dramas: they are one of America's worst exports and one of its most annoying obsessions, in a country that has more lawyers than Africa has dung-beetles.
Nevertheless, the good acting and the relatively realistic dialog make the investigation far more interesting than it has any right to be. Also, it's not a real court. I.e. None of that daft "objection overruled" hooey.
The ending is however somewhat disappointing. Firstly, the actor who plays the senator barely reacts to seeing the alien on OBIT's screen, which I blame the director for. Generally, the reactions of everyone in the room when alien Peter Sellers does his speech are way too reserved, as if seeing aliens is standard fare for these science/military people.
Secondly, and this is the real problem, the aliens' motive for spreading OBIT machines throughout America is far-fetched, on the verge of being silly: the aim was to spread paranoia and distrust throughout society... hence make the eventual invasion easier when everyone is "demoralized"! Now that's what I call a VERY eccentric and roundabout invasion plan. These aliens clearly must have enormous patience, to opt for such a subtle, awfully slow way of "undermining" human civilization - as opposed to just using good old force. Considering the enormous power they wield, logically they should be capable of a proper, old-fashioned invasion of Earth, easily. My only guess can be that these aliens live thousands of years, which could explain how they can afford to carry out such incredibly slow invasions of alien worlds.
Check out my TOL list, with reviews of all the episodes. "The Outer Limits (1963-1965) - All Episodes Rated & Reviewed".
Not that guessing the killer correctly was of any significance, because just a minute later the script anyway reveals him as the murderer. He then approaches David Bowie, or at least his sister.
It's amazing how this low-budget TV show managed to unite two such huge names, Sellers and Bowie, in several scenes. Needless to say, this actress looks abysmal. No woman should be burdened and punished with a Bowie face.
It is unfortunate that we are immediately told what the machine does and especially who the killer is, which may be the ideal set-up for slow-witted, lazy TOListas but for me this is way too much information, way too soon. They could have waited a bit before telling us what OBIT does, and certainly the killer's identity could have been handled with more uncertainty.
In other words, the only thing left for us is to wait patiently, like idiots, until the killer is identified, which is generally pointless and boring (though this episode is an exception), and the only question to be answered is whether the killer was always a monster or became one. Turns out he is an alien.
Besides, I can't stand court-room dramas: they are one of America's worst exports and one of its most annoying obsessions, in a country that has more lawyers than Africa has dung-beetles.
Nevertheless, the good acting and the relatively realistic dialog make the investigation far more interesting than it has any right to be. Also, it's not a real court. I.e. None of that daft "objection overruled" hooey.
The ending is however somewhat disappointing. Firstly, the actor who plays the senator barely reacts to seeing the alien on OBIT's screen, which I blame the director for. Generally, the reactions of everyone in the room when alien Peter Sellers does his speech are way too reserved, as if seeing aliens is standard fare for these science/military people.
Secondly, and this is the real problem, the aliens' motive for spreading OBIT machines throughout America is far-fetched, on the verge of being silly: the aim was to spread paranoia and distrust throughout society... hence make the eventual invasion easier when everyone is "demoralized"! Now that's what I call a VERY eccentric and roundabout invasion plan. These aliens clearly must have enormous patience, to opt for such a subtle, awfully slow way of "undermining" human civilization - as opposed to just using good old force. Considering the enormous power they wield, logically they should be capable of a proper, old-fashioned invasion of Earth, easily. My only guess can be that these aliens live thousands of years, which could explain how they can afford to carry out such incredibly slow invasions of alien worlds.
Check out my TOL list, with reviews of all the episodes. "The Outer Limits (1963-1965) - All Episodes Rated & Reviewed".
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
